Beech nut tree baby food

Homemade Baby Food 101 - Beech-Nut

Moms and dads, this is a pep talk. You can make homemade baby food! And it doesn’t have to be a big production, a separate meal, or require a second freezer. Make a little bit at a time, or plan for a big batch, but give it a try and you’ll see that it’s really easy to do. Still don’t believe us? Check out these tips for a little inspiration (all things we kept in mind when we designed Beech-Nut foods, inspired by homemade!).

Forget the Gear

If you know your baby is ready for solids, the good news is that you probably have most of what you need to make homemade baby food. You can make puree with a food processor, a quality blender, or a handheld/stick blender. Heck, you can mash it up with a fork if you want!

Once you’ve identified the best food-musher in the kitchen, all you need are ice cube trays (we like the silicon 1 oz cube versions), freezer bags and a steamer.

Find Some Time

We hear you laughing…but hear us out!

Make your meal prep their meal prep: If you’re making veggies for dinner, chop up a few extra and put them in the steamer for a small batch of puree.

Take advantage of the grandparent visit: First, take a shower! Then go to the store, and don’t forget to keep it simple, stick to one or two ingredients. Pro move: get one for steaming, one for baking, and cook them simultaneously to save time.

Now Make It

Homemade baby food is more or less this simple: bake or steam fruits and veggies until they’re tender. Puree in a blender (or whatever you’re using) until you get the right texture for your baby, adding water or breast milk to thin if needed. Serve it then & there* or pour into ice cube trays & freeze.

Get Friendly with Your Freezer

Transfer frozen cubes to resealable bags and label them with the contents & date because YOU WILL NOT REMEMBER THIS and all food looks really similar in frozen cube form. Food will keep in the freezer for 3-6 months, and a full 1 oz. cube = 2 Tbsp. When you’re ready to reheat, take what you need and let it thaw in the fridge or throw it in the microwave* because no judgment here! You made homemade food and are already basically Supermom or Superdad!

That’s it! You’re ready to make your own baby food. Start with a simple single ingredient like sweet potato or carrot, or try an easy recipe with a blend, like our delicious Pineapple, Pear & Avocado Puree recipe. Either way, you’ve got this!

And when you don’t got it (we understand, life happens), you can always call for backup by choosing one of our homemade-inspired jar purees from our Naturals or Organics line. Two of our favorites: Naturals Beets, Pear & Pomegranate and Organics Banana, Cinnamon & Granola.

*You probably know this, but we have to say it anyway: Always check the texture and temperature of your baby’s food before serving to make sure it’s not too hot and doesn’t contain any lumps that could be choking hazards. Make sure you’re feeding age-appropriate baby food and always check with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns.

Beechnut Rice Cereal Baby Food Recall 2021: Reviews On What You Need To Know

Overview

Two disturbing Congressional baby food safety reports were released in February and September 2021, revealing that many of the most popular brands of baby foods were selling products that were tainted with dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals.

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Among the brand names mentioned were Gerber and Beechnut, well known for their baby and toddler food items.

The reviews and results of these reports are concerning because even low levels of heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium can be detrimental to babies and growing toddlers.

Exposure to these heavy metals can cause permanent damage to your child’s brain development. It may lead to IQ decrease and behavioral issues. (1)(2)

New parents, and even unsuspecting seasoned parents, have enough worries on their plates regarding their children’s well-being to have to also think about issues of food contamination such as these.

In light of these recent findings, it’s becoming increasingly harder to trust big-name brands and the quality of their products.

Lawmakers and parents alike are now putting pressure on the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) to introduce stricter testing policies for companies such as Beech-Nut.

One of the main changes being pressed is to require baby food manufacturers to test the finished products for heavy metals rather than testing individual components before formulations are made.

Is There A Recall On 2021 Baby Food?

Despite the Subcommittee report showing that several products had high levels of heavy metals, Beech-Nut only issued this cereal recall:

Beech-Nut Single Grain Rice Cereal

Date Recalled: June 8, 2021

Company Name: Beech-Nut

Reasons For Recall: High arsenic levels

Affected Products: UPC Code# 52200034705; Product codes 103470XXXX and 093470XXXX; Expiration date of 01MAY2022 (3)

Return or Refund Processing: www.beechnut.com/ricecereal or 1-866-272-9417

Statement from Jason Jacobs, Beech-Nut’s vice president for food safety and quality: (4)

“The safety of infants and children is Beech-Nut’s top priority. We are issuing this voluntary recall because we learned through routine sampling by the State of Alaska that a limited quantity of Beech-Nut Single Grain Rice Cereal products had levels of naturally-occurring inorganic arsenic above the FDA guidance level, even though the rice flour used to produce these products tested below the FDA guidance level for inorganic arsenic.”

Beech-Nut In Subcommittee Congressional Report On Toxic Baby Foods

Which Baby Food Brands Are Toxic?

In a detailed Congressional Report on toxic products released last February 2021, the US Congress Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy asked the following baby food manufacturers for the test results of products reported to have high levels of toxic heavy metals: (5)

Beech-Nut Nutrition Company (Beech-Nut)
Nurture, Inc. (HappyBABY and HappyTOT)
Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (Earth’s Best Organic)
Gerber
Campbell’s Plum Organics
Walmart Inc. (Parent’s Choice)
Sprout Foods, Inc. (Sprout Organic Foods)

Of these seven baby food companies, only Beech-Nut, Gerber, Nurture, and Hain submitted test results and internal testing policies to the Subcommittee. The rest refused to cooperate. (5)

Despite complying with the Subcommittee’s request, the four companies remained under fire. Their test results showed heavy metal levels in their ingredients and baby food products were several times the FDA’s maximum allowable levels. (5)

Instead of meeting FDA’s standards, the baby food manufacturers created their own internal standards with increased limits that make it appear as if their products passed. In reality, their results are several times higher than the FDA standards. (5)

Is Beech-Nut Baby Food Safe?

According to the first Congressional Report, Beech-Nut declared that all its raw materials passed internal standards. But the company set very high internal maximum levels, so the ingredients actually failed government regulations. (5)

Inorganic Arsenic:

300+ ppb in additives (used in different products)
913.4 ppb in raw materials

Mercury:

The company doesn’t test products or ingredients for mercury.

Lead:

Up to 886.9 ppb (raw materials)

Cadmium:

Up to 344.55 ppb (raw materials)

Second Congressional Report

In September 2021, the Subcommittee submitted a follow-up report. It announced that the state of Alaska independently tested Beech-Nut baby food products and still found dangerously high levels of inorganic arsenic. (6)

Despite Alaska’s test results, the second Congressional baby food report revealed that Beech-Nut failed to notify the public or pull all those affected products from the market. (6)

Beech-Nut Rice Cereal (product codes 103470XXXX and 093470XXXX; expiration date of May 1, 2022) were recalled on June 8, 2021. (3)

But to date, no further Beech-Nut recalls have been announced, despite at least four other products also having high levels of arsenic. (6)

Does Beech-Nut have heavy metals?

The FDA sets the maximum limits in ppb (parts per billion) for infant rice cereal to 100 ppb inorganic arsenic, but the Beech-Nut rice cereals have more than this limit.

Three samples associated with the two recalled products tested by Alaska had the following inorganic arsenic levels: (6)

Product code 103470XXXX: 125 ppb
Product code 093470XXXX, sample 1: 122 ppb
Product code 093470XXXX, sample 2: 116 ppb

Aside from these samples from recalled products, Alaska reported four Beech-Nut rice cereal product codes that also tested over the FDA’s arsenic limits: (6)

013470XXXX
013351XXXX
243470XXXX
113470XXXX

Notably, there were two different samples for 243470XXXX from the same lot. Both showed high levels of inorganic arsenic. The Congressional Report stated that these results are proof that Beech-Nut should have issued a recall on this product code, too. (6)

Reducing Heavy Metals in Baby Food Products

Heavy metals could greatly affect the body and brain development of young children. So, Consumer Reports, the US PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), and other concerned groups call for the approval of the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021. (8)

It will require baby food manufacturers to test and disclose their results to parents and regulators. It will also direct the FDA to create and implement stricter heavy metal limits for baby foods. (8)

In response to public outcry, the FDA announced its action plan called “Closer to Zero.” It aims to reduce toxic elements from foods of babies and young children by lowering the allowable limits. (9)

If implemented, this could lower the limit to 15 ppb for infant cereal and 10 ppb in other baby foods, as proposed by the Baby Food Safety Act. (6)

If that happens, then Beech-Nut will need to pull more products off the shelves. Because even the rice cereal samples (product code 193470XXXX; arsenic level 52.2 ppb) with the lowest inorganic arsenic content have at least three times the allowable limit. (6)

What Is The Healthiest Baby Food Brand?

The following may be healthier alternatives to the unsafe products in the report:

Little Spoon (subscription-based organic baby food)
Yumi (subscription-based organic baby food)
Little Journey Organics
Once Upon A Farm
Serenity Kids

Preparing Healthier Alternatives At Home

You can also prepare fresh, organic baby foods at home using appliances you already have in your kitchen. Products like a Baby Brezza Small Baby Food Maker Set – Cooker and Blender can also help.

But a blender or simple food processor will also do the trick. No need to buy any new gadgets.

You can prepare healthy, fresh baby food at home using:

Whole or puréed vegetables and fruits
Raw yogurt or coconut yogurt
Quality meats, poultry, or fish
Bone broth
Healthy fats such as ghee, olive oil, or coconut oil
Quinoa
Eggs
Oats

Although sweet potatoes and carrots can also have high lead and cadmium levels, they are also important sources of vitamin A and other nutrients. Include these in your child’s diet in moderate amounts. (7)

It’s also best to avoid using rice and rice flour because they might have high cadmium, lead, and arsenic levels. (7)

Other Companies In Congressional Report On Toxic Baby Foods

The following companies were also listed on the Congressional reports: (5)(6)

Gerber Products Company

The company submitted test results for raw materials only, acknowledging that it doesn’t test finished products for heavy metal content. (5)

Mercury:

No test for mercury.

Inorganic Arsenic:

Up to 90 ppb (rice flour)

Lead:

Up to 48 ppb (sweet potatoes)

Cadmium:

Over 5 ppb in 75% of raw ingredients (carrots)
Up to 87 ppb (some carrot batches)
No test for cadmium in other raw materials or ingredients.

Nurture, Inc. (HappyBABY And Happy Family Organics)

Nurture regularly tests both ingredients and finished products for heavy metals, unlike the other baby food manufacturers in the Congressional Report.

But despite knowing that their finished products had high levels of heavy metals, Nurture continued to release them without any corrections. The company admitted that the heavy metal test results aren’t the basis for product release. (5)

Inorganic Arsenic:

Up to 100 ppb (over 25% of Nurture finished baby products)
Up to 160 (Strawberry & Beet Puffs)
Up to 160 (Banana & Pumpkin Puffs)
Up to 180 ppb (Apple & Broccoli Puffs)

Mercury:

Up to 9.8 ppb (Banana Sweet Potato)
Up to 10 ppb (Brown Rice Cereal Canister)

Lead:

Up to 10 ppb (Nurture vegetables and rice products)
Up to 560 ppb (Multi-Grain Cereal Canister)
Up to 641 ppb (Blueberry Purple Carrot)

Cadmium:

Up to 5 ppb (65% of Nurture products)
Up to 36 ppb (Strawberry Raspberry)
Up to 49 ppb (Multi-Grain Cereal Canister)

Hain Celestial Group, Inc.

(Earth’s Best Organic)

Hain admitted that it doesn’t test for actual heavy metal content but only makes “theoretical calculations” from ingredient results. (5)

Inorganic Arsenic:

Up to 309 ppb (ingredients)
Up to 129 ppb (finished products)

Mercury:

No test for mercury.

Lead:

Up to 352 ppb (raw materials)

Cadmium:

Up to 260 ppb (ingredients)

Campbell Soup Company (Plum Organics)

The company refused to provide the Subcommittee with their actual test results or internal standards, insisting that their finished products “meet criteria.” (5)

But data from Healthy Babies Bright Futures showed the following results for Just Sweet Potato Organic Baby Food: (7)

Mercury:

Less than 0.142 ppb

Inorganic Arsenic:

Up to 3.1 ppb

Lead:

Up to 5. 6 ppb

Cadmium:

Up to 2.3 ppb

Walmart Inc. (Parent’s Choice)

Walmart also refused to submit results or internal standards to the Subcommittee. These are data from the Healthy Babies Bright Futures report: (7)

Inorganic Arsenic:

Up to 108 ppb (Organic Strawberry Rice Rusks)
Up to 56.1 ppb (Little Hearts Strawberry Yogurt Cereal Snack)

Mercury:

Up to 2.05 ppb (Organic Strawberry Rice Rusks)
Up to 0.941 ppb (Little Hearts Strawberry Yogurt Cereal Snack)

Lead:

Up to 26.9 ppb (Organic Strawberry Rice Rusks)

Up to 5.2 ppb (Little Hearts Strawberry Yogurt Cereal Snack)

Cadmium:

Up to 26.1 ppb (Little Hearts Strawberry Yogurt Cereal Snack)
Up to 2.4 ppb (Organic Strawberry Rice Rusks)

Sprout Foods, Inc. (Sprout Organic Foods)

The company never responded to the Congressional Subcommittee. So, these results for Organic Quinoa Puffs Baby Cereal Snack – Apple Kale also come from the Healthy Babies Bright Futures report: (7)

Inorganic Arsenic:

Up to 107 ppb

Mercury:

Up to 1.31 ppb

Lead:

Up to 39.3 ppb

Cadmium:

Up to 41.5 ppb

REFERENCES

(1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23570911/

(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4418502/

(3) https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/beech-nut-nutrition-company-issues-voluntary-recall-one-lot-beech-nut-single-grain-rice-cereal-and

(4) https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/beech-nut-stop-selling-specific-baby-rice-cereal-78196121

(5) https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2021-02-04%20ECP%20Baby%20Food%20Staff%20Report.pdf

(6) https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house. gov/files/ECP%20Second%20Baby%20Food%20Report%209.29.21%20FINAL.pdf

(7) http://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ENGLISH_R5b.pdf

(8) https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2021/06/09/beech-nut-baby-food-recall-2021-rice-cereal-arsenic/7621243002/

(9) https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-shares-action-plan-reducing-exposure-toxic-elements-foods-babies-and-young-children

Beech nut - calories, useful properties, benefits and harms, description

576

Proteins, g:

6.2

Fats, g:

50.0

Carbohydrates, g:

33.5

Many people associate beech wood with high quality wood, which is often used in manufacturing and construction. However, this broad-leaved tree is valued not only for its durable wood, but also for its beech nuts, which are used to make vegetable oil.

Beech are broad-leaved trees that form the eponymous genus belonging to the family Beech . A beech tree can reach about 30 meters in height, while the thickness of the trunk will be two meters. The tree is decorated with a magnificent crown, which is formed by large leaves, the width of which reaches 10 centimeters, and the length is 15 centimeters. Beech begins to bloom in spring, almost simultaneously with bud break.

Beech is a long-lived tree whose life cycle can exceed 350 years. This type of tree belongs to heat-loving plants and grows rather slowly. Beech is ubiquitous in the temperate latitudes of Eurasia, as well as Asia and North America.

The beech tree is one of the most common tree species found in Europe. Several species of beech trees are known, but basically they differ only in the area of \u200b\u200bdistribution and some external signs (calorizator). As mentioned above, beech is decorated with a beautiful crown, so people use this type of tree to form green spaces. The wood of the tree is actively used in the manufacture of furniture, musical instruments, as well as measuring instruments and containers. The use of beech wood in construction is widespread, especially in finishing work. Let us note a little-known fact, chemical reagents are produced from beech wood, such as methyl alcohol, tar, as well as creosote oils and acetic acid. In industry, beech nuts are actively used, from which high-quality edible vegetable oil is squeezed out, as well as industrial oil. Beech nuts are fed to pets as they are very nutritious.

Edible oil pressed from beech nuts has special beneficial properties and taste, aroma is not inferior to high-quality olive oil.

Beenut calories

Beenut calories are 576 kcal per 100 grams of product.

Composition of beech nuts

Beenuts are enriched with a large amount of vitamin E, proteins of natural origin, malic and citric acid, and are also very nutritious.

Cooking beechnut

Various coffee surrogates are also produced from beech nuts. Beech nuts are fed to pets as they are very nutritious. In addition, beech nuts serve as a raw material for the manufacture of flour, which is used for the preparation of culinary products. Beech nuts are rich in vitamin E, naturally occurring proteins, malic acid and citric acid, and are highly nutritious.

Beech walnut

Properties of beech nuts

Nutritional value and composition | Vitamins | Minerals

How much does a beech nut cost (average price per 1)?

Many are accustomed to associate such a broad-leaved tree as a beech with high-quality plant wood, which is actively used in construction, as well as in the manufacturing sector. However, the beech tree is known not only for its wood. Since ancient times, valuable vegetable oil, which is obtained from beech nuts, has been in special demand and popularity.

The beech tree belongs to the Beech family of plants that reach a height of 30 meters. It should be noted that the thickness of the beech trunk can be equal to 2 meters. The tree is distinguished by the presence of a luxurious crown, which is made up of massive leaves whose length can reach 15 cm and a width of 10 cm. Beech blooms in spring, almost simultaneously with the deployment of leaves from buds.

The life cycle of a beech tree can be up to 400 years. It is worth noting that the tree grows quite slowly and belongs to heat-loving plants that prefer loamy soil for growth. A tree such as a beech is distributed throughout the measured climatic zone of Eurasia, as well as North America and Asia.

Beech is one of the most common types of trees growing in Europe. There are several types of beech trees, which differ in their distribution area, and also differ slightly in appearance. People use beech trees to form green spaces. The wood of the plant is used for the production of furniture, applied measuring instruments, as well as containers, musical instruments and other products.

In addition, beech wood is widely used in construction and finishing works. Few people know that irreplaceable chemicals are produced from beech wood, such as tar, methyl alcohol, as well as acetic acid and creosote oils. Beech nuts are actively used in the food industry. As a rule, beech nuts are processed and receive high-quality edible vegetable oil.

The oil obtained from beech nuts has distinctive beneficial and nutritional properties. Experts note that vegetable oil produced from beech nuts is not inferior in taste, aroma and other consumer qualities to high-quality Provencal olive oil. It is worth noting that beech nuts are used not only for the production of food, but also for oil. Technical oil is obtained from the fruits of the tree, which is used in the manufacturing sector.

Beech nuts are also used for the production of coffee substitutes. In addition, beech nuts are considered an excellent highly nutritious pet food. Beech nuts are highly nutritious and contain in their chemical composition a significant amount of vitamin E, as well as proteins of natural origin, citric and malic acid. Due to their high nutritional value and beneficial properties, beech nuts are ground into flour and used for baking and other culinary products.