Baby food around the world
Baby Food Around the World: What Baby's First Foods are Around the Wor
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Baby Food Around the World
Baby's Most Common "First Food" by Country
Did you know that baby food looks, feels and tastes different all around the world?
It’s true: in America, certain things probably come to mind when we think of “baby food” (boxes of rice cereal, baby food jars, peas, carrots…), but feeding babies is a cultural script. Much like so many other parenting norms and trends, what’s “normal” in one place may be bizarre in another, and vice versa.
Around the world, it’s more common that baby’s first foods actually reflect any given culture’s native cuisine. In fact, the very concept of separate “baby foods” or “kid foods” doesn’t really exist in many other cultures, and children — including babies — are raised to eat what their families eat. As Dr. Alan Greene explains it: “in many cultures around the world, babies simply eat a gentler version of whatever their parents are eating. stands in stark contrast to norms in the U.S., where we typically introduce babies first to, well, foods no one actually (wants to) eat (have youtried rice cereal and jarred peas???). And while most of our first foods for babies are bland and lacking in flavor, texture and nutrients, many first foods around the world expose babies right away to the flavors and tastes that are central to their ways of eating.
For example, recommendations in Germany suggest starting out with a meat-veggie-potato puree; in Japan, parents offer their babies rice, fish, and pickled vegetables; in France, diverse vegetables are at the center of babies’ plates; in Kenya, where vitamin A deficiency is a common problem, sweet potatoes (packed with vitamin A) are a classic first food.
This is all cute and fun (really, it is — check out the chart below for a little tour!), but it also speaks to a broader predicament: the first months and years of eating solid foods are crucial for establishing healthy eating habits and flavor/taste preferences.
Other cultures have figured this out, andthey feed their children how they want them to eat right from the get-go (and their children, generally speaking, grow up to prefer and enjoy traditional dishes and more healthful eating practices). In comparison, the traditional American approach to starting solids is laying the foundation forless healthy, diverse and flavorful preferences.
It’s not ideal…
A point: babies don’t need to eat “special foods” — and they can benefit SO greatly from early and frequent exposure to a wide variety of fresh, flavorful foods. Ideally, they’re eating the same healthy foods we parents are eating ourselves. (For more on how parents influence baby’s eating, read here.)
The distinctly American approach toward starting solids stems from many factors (not least of which include formal medical recommendations from the AAP and decades of cultural conventions favoring processed foods), but thankfully we’re starting to see some newfound appreciation for the importance of these first experiences with eating — because the early years offer a window of opportunity to lay the foundation for healthy eating.
We at Amara know all this and are dedicated to bringing families first foods that prep babies for flavorful, healthful eating right away. Our babies and children all deserve to eat the same nutritious, delicious and diverse foods we hope they’ll love to eat as they grow up; and all of our organic baby food blends are made to deliver just that. Amara baby food offers the same bright flavors, varying textures, and full nutrient profile of traditional homemade foods without sacrificing convenience or breaking the bank. It’sreal food for babies — not “baby food” — and it’s changing our children’s palates one plate at a time. Simply add water or breast milk, mix and serve! Click to learn more. 😊
Check out these traditional first dishes for babies from around the world:
| Country/ Region | Most Common First Food for Babies |
| China | Xifan, a rice porridge, paired with mashed fruits, soft vegetables, tofu, seaweed, eggs or fish |
| Japan | Rice cereal and radish; miso soup; rice porridge served with veggies and dried fish |
| India | Cracked wheat porridge followed by khichdi, a mushy rice-lentil-vegetable dish often spiced with cumin, coriander, cinnamon or mint |
| Middle East | Hummus and baba ganoush |
| Mexico | Rice, beans, and soups — sometimes topped with seasonings such as lime or chili powder; fresh fruits like papaya and avocado |
| South Africa | Corn porridge and fish |
| Thailand | Khao tom (rice soup) |
| Germany | Pureed potatoes, vegetables, and/or meats |
| United Kingdom | Rice cereal, pureed vegetables, fruit |
| Vietnam | Brothy soups and fibrous porridges prepared with fish, meat, or vegetables |
| France | Vegetables(!) like leeks, spinach, endive, or beets, as well as soups and fine cheeses |
https://theconversation.
com/parenting-practices-around-the-world-are-diverse-and-not-all-about-attachment-111281
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-babies-eat-around-th_b_4338355
https://time.com/what-kids-eat-around-the-world-in-one-week/
https://www.drgreene.com/first-foods
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Parenting_Without_Borders/kXAIDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover
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Here’s What Babies Eat Around the World
Erica Loop
Sep 07, 2017
Pureed carrots and corn might not exactly bringing the word “yummy” to your lips. But your baby sure likes it when you toss a few veggies in the food processor, blend them up, and spoon feed it to them.
You’ve spent days, weeks, no… months educating yourself about healthy baby foods for their first year. Of course, this most likely means that you’ve been learning about what American babies need, should, or want to eat. What your kiddo chows down on might not necessarily look like what kiddos across the planet eat. If you’re wondering what goes down globally on the baby food front, check out these pint-sized international eats.
1. Japan: That rice cereal you feed your baby isn’t exactly groundbreaking when it comes to infant culinary inventions. The Japanese feed their babies okayu, or rice porridge. The starter version of this first food is plain and liquidy, but moms often adapt it as baby begins eating different textures.
2. Kenya: Known as ngwaci, sweet potatoes are a staple of the Kenyan diet. They’re rich in vitamin A, which is important for a healthy immune system and helps your eyes, lungs, heart, and kidneys to work properly.
Babies in Kenya aren’t munching on whole potatoes, though. Parents mash them up to serve as a mushy first food.
3. Sweden: Swedish babies over six months are treated (if that’s what you want to call it) to a thick, syrupy, cereal-like drink that keeps their tummies full and gets them growing. This cornerstone of the infant diet is known as Välling, and Swedes swear by it. This drink-food product is kind of like formula, but way thicker. It’s more like a cross between formula (made with fortified powdered milk) and that goopy baby cereal that we feed tiny tykes over here in the US.
4. France: We’ve all heard the tales about little French children who eat culinary delicacies that most us American adults still look at as “fancy.” The French typically start their babies off with veggies and go from there. The difference when it comes to feeding in France is the pace at which the foods are introduced. French parents are majorly into diversification and introduce a new vegetable every three to four days.
5. Jamaica: Like babies in the US, babies in Jamaica also eat pureed and mashed fruits. But these kiddos are treated to what we consider the exotic varieties. Of course, to Jamaican mamas, fruits such as mangoes, naseberry, and guava are more-common-than-cool variations.
6. Cameroon: Babies in this African country eat a cereal-like fermented cornmeal recipe called pap. It’s kind of like a corn mush. Think of a watery polenta and you’ve got it!
7. India: Again, a cereal-esque porridge is the way to go when it comes to first baby foods. In India, babies are given dalia. Instead of corn or rice, this one is made from broken wheat. It’s obviously a good source of carbs, but dalia also has plenty of iron and fiber in it too.
8. Mexico: Some of the first foods that Mexican moms feed their babies are soups, fruits (such as papaya), and avocadoes. Older tots chew on soft tortillas too. Some mamas favor sprinkling a touch of chili powder on the foods as a way to get their little picky eaters to try new foods.
9. Italy: Like the French, Italian parents start their kids out with an assortment of veggies. These are pureed and mashed, of course. As kids get used to solids and start trying new textures, a vegetarian broth with small semolina pasta is also a favorite.
What was your baby’s first food? Tweet us @BritandCo!
(Photos via Getty)
Erica Loop
Erica Loop is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh. When she's not busy creating kids' activities for her blog Mini Monets and Mommies, you can find her trying to hang out with her teenage son, being chased by her two Olde Boston Bulldogs or teaching a children's karate class (she's a third degree black belt!).
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United States to take military action on infant formula
Problems with baby food in the United States provoked by the recall of a large manufacturer of products from a plant in Michigan after infecting four babies with subsequent hospitalization / TANNEN MAURY / EPA / TASS
That the situation with access to The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on May 18 that children's nutrition, including medical nutrition, is generally threatening around the world.
According to him, the cost of life-saving food for children who suffer from malnutrition will increase by 16% against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine. In the next six months, 600,000 children around the world may be left without the necessary treatment, according to UNICEF. We are talking about special mixtures of high-calorie pasta with peanuts, butter, sugar and nutrients.
The situation has become critical even in the USA. President Joe Biden on Wednesday, May 18, took emergency measures to facilitate manufacturers' access to ingredients for infant formula. The deficit was created due to a three-month suspension of production of this product by the leading company in the country's market and the fourth in the world - Abbott Nutrition after complaints of microorganism poisoning. To stabilize the situation with access to baby food, Biden applied the Defense Production Act (DPA), passed in 1950 against the backdrop of the Korean War.
The use of DPA will allow prioritized redistribution of raw materials for the production of baby food and will create the possibility of accelerated import of products conforming to US standards from abroad by transport aircraft of US Department of Defense commercial contractors.
Biden turned to this law after a group of congressmen, both Democrats and Republicans, turned to him with the corresponding demand on May 17. The appeal was supported by both houses of Congress.
"Giving firms to prioritize and allocate production of key baby food ingredients will help boost production and speed up supply chains," the White House said in a statement. The US Department of Defense will use its commercial air freight contracts, "as it did to transport materials in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic," to transport products from facilities overseas. "Bypassing scheduled air travel routes will expedite the import and distribution of infant formula," the White House said in a press release. Previously, CNBC sources at the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) named Chile, Ireland, Mexico and the Netherlands as potential suppliers.
600,000 children around the world
could be left without needed treatment in the next six months, according to UNICEF
Baby food problems in the US prompted a recall by Abbott Nutrition, a major manufacturer, of products manufactured at a plant in Sturgis, Michigan, in mid-February .
This came after four infants were poisoned in a number of states after being infected with salmonella and the bacterium Cronobacter sakazakii and subsequently hospitalized, two of whom died. The FDA regulator had complaints about the production process at the company’s plant back in October 2021.
The FDA and the manufacturer launched investigations, with the regulator ordering a recall of all Similac PM 60/40, Similac, Alimentum and EleCare brand blends that expired April 1, 2022. The company also had to suspend production for three months. No new cases of infection, with the exception of four in February, were recorded. On Monday, May 16, Abbott Nutrition reached an agreement with the FDA to allow production to resume at the Sturgis plant by hiring independent experts to ensure it is manufactured to approved standards. At the same time, the resumption of production does not promise to be fast. Abbott said it would take up to two weeks to reopen a Michigan facility and up to eight weeks for blends to be in stores across the US.
Abbott Nutrition, along with Mead Johnson Nutrition, Nestle USA and Perrigo, are key US baby food manufacturers. During the first week of May, 43% of infant formula was out of stock and in stores across the US, according to Datasembly, a company that tracks retail data. This roughly corresponds to Abbott Nutrition's share of the US baby food market, according to USDA estimates. As of early 2022, Abbott Nutrition was also the world's fourth-leading baby food manufacturer, according to Industry Research.
DPA appeared in 1950 and since then has been repeatedly supplemented, continuing to operate until now. In general, the idea of the law is to give the President of the United States the right to require businesses to take actions that are necessary for national security, says Igor Slabykh, a lawyer practicing in the United States. And it is not only about military or economic security. Even such loose wording as "ensuring the national welfare" is also part of national security, Slabykh notes.
The lawyer recalled that since the beginning of the law, it has been applied about 50 times and this has been done by almost every US president. Both Donald Trump and Barack Obama applied the law immediately before Biden, Slabykh says. Trump used the law to demand priority production of ventilators early in the pandemic. Obama used the law to counter cyber threats from China. Biden himself has also already managed to use the law to increase the production of protective equipment that is used during the pandemic, as well as to produce a vaccine against COVID-19., says the lawyer.
The fact that Biden activated the Law on Defense Production speaks of an emergency, says Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the HSE CCEMI. The shortage of milk formula is also associated with inflation - citizens simply sweep away the most important goods from the shelves. The problem of inflation is now of great concern to Americans, and it is precisely this that can become the main reason for the Democrats to lose in the midterm elections in November 2022, Suslov believes.
In the fight against inflation, the Biden administration is failing, and it is no longer able to shift the arrows to Russia. Now Biden's rhetoric about "Putin's price increase" causes only irritation and laughter in the American public, the expert concludes.
In Russia, as Kommersant reported citing sources, in early March, a threat of a shortage of infant formula was recorded. According to the interlocutors of the publication, baby food manufacturers, in particular Nestle, notified retail chains about the depletion of raw materials. They attributed this to the failure of supplies from Europe. In parallel, demand, according to the sources of the newspaper, then jumped by 250%. At that time, problems had already arisen with powdered milk mixtures, as well as fruit puree, the sources of the newspaper say. On March 6, Tatyana Butskaya, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, announced numerous complaints about rising prices for breast milk substitutes.
On March 17, Rosstat announced an increase in prices for baby food by more than 4% in the first week of March alone. The Federal Antimonopoly Service then explained the rise in prices by the cancellation of promotions by manufacturers, thanks to which mixtures could be bought at a discount of up to 50%. In March, according to Rosstat, prices for children's canned vegetables increased by 7.2-12%. In April, a significant increase in prices for baby food was recorded in certain regions, for example, in the Sverdlovsk region in the middle of the month they increased by more than 7%, according to the regional statistical office. At the end of March, baby food manufacturers (Gerber, Nan Optipro, Nestogen) warned of a possible increase in prices for their products in Russia by up to 20–30% due to logistics difficulties amid sanctions.
At the beginning of April, the newspaper reported on the emergence of another factor in the shortage of baby food. So, on April 11, Russia introduced tougher measures of veterinary control over the import of products into the country.
However, by the beginning of May, the growth rate of prices for baby food in Russia as a whole slowed down to a range of 1%.
Although there are supply chain and logistics problems that are common around the world, the problem with the lack of baby food in the United States is a local issue related to the problems of American production, says Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of Infoline Analytics. In Russia, the price pressure obviously remains, the expert agreed, in the segment of dairy products, prices for baby food are growing. But there is no systemic shortage of infant formula, except for the moments associated with those companies that limited the supply of certain brands to Russia, says Burmistrov. The March rise in prices was largely associated in Russia with massive rush demand amid panic due to anti-Russian sanctions in connection with the situation in Ukraine. Now, according to Burmistrov, it is not systematically visible that there is a sharp deterioration in the situation.
Media news2
Is advertising distracting? Subscribe to hide itWhy is Nestlé baby food not finding adequate demand?
According to Euromonitor, in 2018, the largest growth in sales in the infant formula segment came from specially formulated foods for babies who have just transitioned from breastfeeding to formula. 123rf.comSwiss food giant Nestlé is trying to diversify its baby food range and bring innovative products to market. The prospects here are promising. However, many critics are skeptical. And they have a reason to.
This content was published on January 10, 2020
Jessica Davis Pluss (Jessica Davis Pluss)
In the first weeks of life, Lindsay Beeson's baby developed a rash, traces of blood on diapers, diarrhea and vomiting. Doctors diagnosed an allergy to cow's milk.
Like many other mothers in her situation, Lindsey eliminated milk from her baby's diet and, in addition to breastfeeding, began to gradually introduce complementary foods with hypoallergenic infant formula. In the second year of his life, her son was switched to milk formulas specially designed for babies with allergies. “I knew that they contained a balance of proteins, fats and vitamins similar to the composition of cow's milk. And my son liked the taste,” she said in an interview with swissinfo.ch.
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For global food concerns such as Nestlé, the development and launch of new formulas for infants up to one year of age, including those suffering from allergic reactions, requiring special dietary nutrition or simply picky eaters, is another and very important abroad in expanding the range of baby food.
Speaking to a group of journalists in Lausanne, Thierry Philardeau, Nestlé's Senior Vice President of Strategic Dairy Business Development, recently stated: all babies and their mothers.
" From a practical point of view, the concern's strategy is to fill the gaps that arise in the nutrition of mothers and their children, regardless of whether the children receive artificial feeding, natural breastfeeding or combination.
The Swiss concern continues to focus on the nutrition of premature babies and children with special medical conditions. And yet, in recent years, he has consistently increased investment in research and development in order to obtain new products for the nutrition of children after the age of six months of life, that is, for a particularly difficult period when breast milk alone is no longer enough to meet the nutritional needs of a child. , and a complete transition to artificial food has not yet taken place.
Artificial demand or valuable nutritional supplement?
Nestlé baby food has a direct impact on the health of millions of children around the world. More than 150 years have passed since Henri Nestlé (1814-1890) invented Farine Lactée, a baby porridge to support malnourished children.
Today, Nestlé is the world's largest infant formula company. It has a fifth market share, followed by Danone in second place.
In recent years there has been a real boom in breastfeeding around the world. The profits of infant formula companies have fallen. Therefore, today these companies rely on "older babies" and on related products. According to EuromonitorExternal link , in 2018, the largest sales growth in the infant formula segment was provided by specially formulated nutrition for children who have just switched from breastfeeding to artificial food.
External content Today in supermarkets in almost every country in the world you can find the widest range of types of milk powder, dairy product concentrates and breast milk substitutes for children under one year old. It would seem great, but not everyone is satisfied with these products. Activists such as Patti Rundall are sounding the alarm. Since the 1980s, she has served as Director of Strategic Policy for Baby Milk ActionExternal Link , an international network of baby food organizations.
Since her filing, the world has experienced a number of very large litigations in connection with the production and sale of artificial nutrition from Nestlé Corporation.
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What's the problem? It turns out that, according to her, the Nestlé and Danone concerns are the main initiators of the promotion of baby food for babies and milk formulas for children aged from 6 months to 3 years and further up to the age of nine. They use the same or very similar symbols (logos) as on infant formula, so parents, when they see the brand name, believe that they have a whole product line in front of them. However, new formulas for infant formula are just a marketing ploy.
“There is nothing new in them, so all milk formulas, starting with formulas “6 months+”, as well as formulas for children from 1 year to 3 years and older, are simply not needed, they are just a way to get more money out of parents’ pockets ”, P. Randall told swissinfo.
ch. “This product should be removed from the market. But the market has become so huge that no one wants to do it, although everyone knows that they are dealing with violations of the provisions of the WHO Guidelines to stop inappropriate forms of promotion of foods for infants and young children.
More precisely, we are talking about the International Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, adopted by WHO in 1981. This document sets standards for ethically responsible marketing, including restrictions on advertising, sponsorship, and giving away free samples of infant formula. The default document proceeds from the fact that, anyway, only breastfeeding is the ideal nutrition for a healthy baby up to six months, which, in fact, Danone, Nestlé and their opponents agree with.
Pressure from the baby food industry
Controversy arises at the gray zone stage, when complementary foods with other foods and beverages can be introduced at about six months of age and older.
You can enter, but is it necessary? And this is where the problem lies. Don't concerns create artificial demand, beneficial primarily to themselves? It is really difficult to understand this, the information received by parents from baby food manufacturers, doctors and staunch opponents of factory baby food is often contradictory.
Some scientific studies state that so-called “Third level milk formulas” for children aged one to three years are not needed, but they can help compensate for nutritional deficiencies, especially in cases of malnutrition or lack of certain nutrients substances in local foods”. So what's wrong with giving kids a better chance at delicious and most importantly healthy food?
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Criticism of Nestlé has a long history. About forty years ago, breastfeeding activists first vociferously accused Nestlé of using an aggressive marketing strategy that resulted in mothers declining to breastfeed in favor of infant formula.
The ensuing widespread boycott of Nestlé products led to major changes in the formation of marketing strategies.
However, Catherine Watt of the Geneva group La Leche LeagueExternal link , an international public private secular organization to support breastfeeding mothers, says that many women today stop breastfeeding earlier than they should. Why? “This is happening as a result of veiled pressure from the baby food industry, which has an arsenal of advertising in favor of various types of complementary foods and infant formula,” she said. “If there are doubts about whether the baby has enough breast milk, and there is some kind of milk formula in the closet, you just try to use it. And now you are already “under the hood” of the industry.”
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In developing countries, the consequences of such a move can be most dramatic. CTO of the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India BPNIExternal link JP Dadhich is particularly concerned about the high cost of these products, their negative environmental impact and potential risks of infection.
“We can't be sure about the quality of the water that these formulas are based on, which increases the risk of diarrhea. And this is in conditions when there is now enough milk of animal origin in India. After boiling, it is completely safe, in addition, it is quite acceptable here, taking into account the cultural traditions of the country. For children, it is better to use complementary foods from quality local products, continuing to breastfeed the child after 6 months.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) is also concerned that infant formula designed specifically for babies after one year of age can shorten the duration of breastfeeding by depriving the baby of important nutrients, especially if the products are labeled similarly and are promoted as more healthy alternative to breastfeeding due to the increased content of vitamins and minerals.
The devil is in the details
All this has caused and continues to cause heated discussions between governments and food company lobbyists.
“One of the challenges with regard to 'level 2' formula (after 6 months) is the need to understand whether foods for children aged 1 to 3 should be considered specifically as 'substitutes' for breast milk, and if not, what should they be called.” Tom Heilandt of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international food standards group, tells us this.
Some governments would like to ban these formulas so as not to completely "kill" the motivation to breastfeed, while other countries want to leave the choice to consumers. India is a country with some of the most stringent regulations. Here, any products intended specifically for children under the age of two years are categorized as breast milk substitutes and thus fall under the international “Code of Regulations” of WHO. Group NestléExternal link says it has gone further than many other players in the industry by operating under European Union rules coming into effect in 2020.
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At the same time, Nestlé opposes any additional regulation, arguing, based on studies already conducted in many countries, that any artificial nutrition alternative will still be less healthy than any mixture.
“There is no point in restricting nutrition advertising for children under the age of one, especially when there are almost no restrictions on advertising Coca-Cola and other fast food anywhere,” says T. Filardo.
Always guilty?
Nestlé recognizes that it needs to proceed with caution given its history of high-profile scandals. “It’s not for you to sell chocolate, we have a huge responsibility. Every year we produce formula for 15 million children, which is equal to the population of the Netherlands,” says T. Filardo. At the same time, the company has already updated its marketing policy several times by creating a system for reporting violations and annually providing reports on compliance with its obligations.
Unlike the pre-1980s era, the company is very clear that "breastfeeding is the best feeding option." At the same time, she wants her food products for children to be almost in no way inferior in quality to breast milk. Critics say it's not enough to be "the lesser of the evils.
