Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Food Safety,Our Blog on April 29, 2026
The test results for Operation Stork Speed are now available. Over 300 infant formulas were tested for heavy metals and chemical contaminants. This study represents the first of its scale and makes up the largest infant formula tested in the United State to date.
Each year, Consumer Reports does a similar study. The last involved less than 50 formulas. However, the results help parents make better informed decisions when selecting an infant formula for their baby.
Operation Stork Speed serves as a groundbreaking study in what we are feeding our most vulnerable population. The results of this study can help remove potentially harmful infant formula from the marketplace.
For many reasons, millions of parents depend on formula as the sole source of nutrition for their babies. Which is why providing safe options is so important.
“You can judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable members. That’s why we’re doing everything in our power to make sure our babies and infants have safe, high quality formula options that are backed by a resilient supply chain,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H.
Operation Stork Speed was announced in March 2025 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This initiative came about after the 2022 and 2025 infant formula-related outbreak and subsequent shortage. It is designed to support the Long-Term National Strategy to Increase the Resiliency of the U.S. Infant Formula Market.
Some of the actions expressed in Operation Stork Speed have already been met. Others are still in progress.
Major activities in Operation Stork Speed Include:
“Through the strategic initiatives implemented under Operation Stork Speed, FDA continues to make strides to enhance quality, safety, nutritional adequacy, and resilience of the domestic infant formula supply.”
Operation Stork Speed describes the sampling activities as a market basket survey. The most commonly sold infant formulas were obtained at retail stores. There are some limitations. This type of sampling does not fully capture multiple lots of the same product.
Operation Stork Speed Tested for:
All formula types were included. Including powders, ready-to-feed liquids, and concentrated liquids. Different protein sources were also evaluated. Including cow milk-, soy-, and amino acid-based formulas.
Fortunately, the results of the inaugural Operation Stork Speed infant formula testing were promising.
There were no pesticide detected in 99% of tested samples. Only 5 of the 30 tested PFAS compounds were detected in infant formula samples. Of which, 95% had PFAS levels at or below 28 parts per trillion. When it came to phthalate levels, 95% contained levels at or below 116 parts per billion.
According to the press release, despite the overall low levels of contaminants, the work is not over.
“While the overall levels of contaminants in the infant formula samples tested were low, the FDA is following up with additional testing as part of the agency’s ongoing robust monitoring and oversight efforts and will take additional action where appropriate.”
For example, additional testing, more contaminants being tested for, and continuous efforts to engage with manufacturers to keep these contaminant levels as low as possible.
The organization understands that small amounts of contaminants in food happens due to environmental contamination where ingredients are grown or produced. Operation Stork Speed and the Closer to Zero initiatives want to minimize these outcomes as much as possible.
Each year, Consumer Reports performs a similar study. In fact, the Make Food Safe Blog covered the topic last month. In that infant formula study, specific brand names and their results were indicated. Operation Stork Speed hid the brand behind sample numbers, leaving the public in the dark as to which brands tested positive for heavy metals and chemical contaminants.
Consumer Reports compiled a list of the “top choice” and “worst choices,” by name.
Top choices included infant formula brands where contaminants were not detected or were detected below the level of concern.
Worst choices, on the other hand, contained contaminants at or above the level of concern.
Only 41 infant formulas were represented in the Consumer Reports survey, but they appear to capture the most popular brands and formulations in their selections.
Operation Stork Speed, with FDA and HHS funding, could increase those sampling numbers to the 312 included in this year’s study.
The recent results do not mean the work is done. This type of testing will be ongoing and made part of the FDA’s routine surveillance program. A program that is already being bolstered with increased testing of its own.
Additionally, Secretary Kennedy will be hosting chief executives from leading infant formula companies next month for a roundtable discussion. These talks will center around modernizing the FDA’s infant formula oversight and continued implementation of Operation Stork Speed. Which, in addition to chemical and microbiological food safety, will also include aspects involving nutrition.
The Make Food Safe blog will be following these initiatives as they come to fruition and report back when we have more information.
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “Results for Operation Stork Speed Now Available, Over 300 Infant Formulas Tested!,” check out the Make Food Safe Blog. We regularly update trending topics, foodborne infections in the news, recalls, and more! Stay tuned for quality information to help keep your family safe, while The Lange Law Firm, PLLC strives to Make Food Safe!
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)