HJNO Jul/Aug 2026

46 JUL / AUG 2026  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS   Healthcare Briefs FDA Releases Results from Largest-Ever Testing of Infant Formula in the U.S. Editor’s Note: The results of Operation Stork Speed may prove useful not because it revealed a poisoned formula supply, but because it tested an alarming claim against evidence. The result was not a scandal. It was a reminder that over- sight matters, trace contaminants exist across the food system, and public health leaders should be as willing to reassure parents as they are to frighten them. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in April results from the largest exami- nation ever conducted focused on chemical con- taminants in infant formula available on the U.S. market. While breast milk is widely considered the gold standard and optimal source of nutrition for infants whenever possible, millions of parents depend on formula. Across the products tested, an overwhelming majority of samples had unde- tectable or very low levels of contaminants, affirm- ing that the U.S. infant formula supply is safe. The FDA tested more than 300 infant formula samples representative of products sold at retail across the U.S. for lead, mercury, cadmium, arse- nic, pesticides (including glyphosate and glufos- inate), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and phthalates. The samples, which included powders, ready-to-feed liquids, and concen- trated liquids, were tested and analyzed in FDA laboratories. While 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 monitoring and over- sight efforts and will take additional action where appropriate. This includes conducting further testing, including for additional contaminants, continuing to engage with manufacturers on measures to reduce the levels of contaminants to as low as possible, and working to establish action levels for contaminants in infant formula. Small amounts of contaminants may be present in foods — including infant formula and breast milk — because they occur naturally or enter the environment through human activities in the areas where ingredients are grown or produced. This testing was conducted as part of Operation Stork Speed, the FDA’s Closer to Zero initiative, and the FDA’s routine food surveillance work to help ensure safe, reliable, and nutritious infant formula for families across the U.S. The FDA will continue to test infant formula as part of Operation Stork Speed and ongoing sur- veillance of foods, including testing infant for- mula products that have entered the U.S. mar- ket since this initial survey began and conducting additional compliance sampling. The agency will share results from follow-up surveys. War Does Not Make America Healthy Over seven congressional budget hearings in two weeks, Health and Human Services Secre- tary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was on Capitol Hill defending a proposed $111.1 billion discretion- ary budget for HHS — a $15.8 billion cut, 12.5% below the 2026 enacted level. At the same time, President Donald Trump’s budget proposes $1.5 trillion for national defense/offense — a 44% increase for the newly rebranded Department of War. Reuters described the proposal as the larg- est year-over-year increase in U.S. defense spend- ing since World War II. Kennedy spoke of diabetes, obesity, ultra-pro- cessed food, poor nutrition, chemical exposure, medical schools that barely teach nutrition, and a healthcare system that spends trillions treat- ing disease after it has already taken hold. He also defended a budget that cuts the depart- ment responsible for health, public health, med- ical research, disability programs, disease surveil- lance, rural health, and emergency preparedness. The most bipartisan moments in the hearing came when senators talked about food. Repub- licans praised Kennedy for emphasizing nutrition, food dyes, medical-school nutrition education, and changes to dietary guidelines. Democrats challenged him on cuts, vaccines, and public- health capacity. But across party lines, there was a rare area of agreement: The American food sys- tem is helping make Americans sick. Overall, the hearing became a collision between Kennedy’s message, Make America Healthy Again, and his anti-science stance and budget cuts to fund billionaires’ tax cuts and the Department of War. Kennedy is right that America’s chronic-disease crisis is real. He is right that nutrition matters. He is right that sanitation, food, water, housing, and environment deserve far more credit than medi- cine usually gives them. But he is wrong when that argument becomes a shield against vaccine accountability, outbreak preparedness, or the basic responsibilities of the health department he leads. And he does not seem to have the power to stop what he knows will harm Americans: pesticides and war. It is not that Kennedy is always wrong or that his critics are always right. It is more uncomfort- able than that. America is sick. Kennedy knows it. America is overmedicalized. Kennedy knows it. America’s food system is dangerous. Kennedy knows it. America’s healthcare costs are unsustainable. Everyone in that room knows it. But knowing it is not enough. A nation does not become healthy by cutting health and funding war. — Dianne Marie Normand Hartley DePaul Receives $100K Grant from Southern Eye Bank Foundation DePaul Community Health Centers has received a $100,000 grant from the Southern Eye Bank Foundation and the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF). The Southern Eye Bank Foundation grant will help DePaul, a Federally Qualified Health Cen- ter, expand optometry services by investing in advanced technology to better identify and man- age care for patients diagnosed with keratoco- nus, an eye disorder of the cornea, at all stages of the disease. The investment in this advanced technology is expected to help improve indi- vidual patient outcomes and reduce long-term healthcare costs. Louisiana Healthcare Connections Exceeds Benchmarks for Well-Child Visits Louisiana Healthcare Connections has sur- passed both state and national benchmarks for well-child visits among its Medicaid members, achieving significant improvements in preventive care utilization. Well-child visits are essential for monitor- ing a child’s physical, emotional, and social