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Can baby food be refrigerated


Storing Baby Food (Store Bought and Homemade)- Healthy Little Foodies

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By: Amy

Safely Storing Baby Food is so important, regardless if you are making your own or using store-bought. Learn how to safely store, refrigerate, freeze and reheat your baby's food in this handy guide.

Why Care is Needed When Storing Baby Food.

Babies digestive and immune systems are immature and they do not have the same immunity as older children and adults. For this reason, it is imperative that you pay close attention to food safety and hygiene when preparing and storing baby food.

Foodborne illnesses are quite common, estimated to affect 4. 1 million Australians each year (1). The symptoms are unpleasant and for some groups with low immunity, such as children under 5, they can be quite serious. (1)

However, good food safety and hygiene practices will help prevent this from happening.

Storing Store-Bought Baby Food

The majority of store-bought baby food is shelf-stable until opening. If you buy from the ambient section you can store the baby food, at room temperature, until the expiration date. Do not use after this date.

When opening, it is important to check that the product is properly sealed and the packaging is not damaged. In pouches make sure the plastic cap seal is not broken and if opening jars listen for a popping sound, which means it has been sealed properly and is safe to eat. If this is not the case then do not use.

Once open, the baby food is no longer shelf-stable and will need to be refrigerated for storing. Replace the lid and store in the refrigerator for 1 - 2 days. (products with meats and poultry up to one day and fruit/vegetables two days). Any food leftover after this time should be thrown away.

If you wish to store leftovers then do not feed your baby straight out of the jar or allow them to suck from the pouch. Instead, transfer a small amount of the baby food to a separate bowl/container (or squeeze from the pouch onto spoon).

"Double Dipping" from the spoon-to mouth- to container can introduce bacteria from your baby's saliva which can grow and may cause food poisoning. Throw away any leftover food from a bowl/container you have been using to feed your baby.

Storing Homemade Baby Food

As a baby only eats tiny amounts, especially in the early stages of their feeding journey, it saves time to make up larger quantities of baby food and store for future meals.

Cooling Food

After cooking it is important to cool the food as quickly as possible. Simply putting your hot food in the fridge may not be enough to cool it down quickly enough. Instead try one of the following

  1. Place it in an airtight container and hold it under a cold running tap. Stir it from time to time so it cools consistently all the way through
  2. Dividing into smaller portions
  3. Transfer to a larger or pre-chilled container and spreading the food out.

Never allow the food to sit out too long, it should be chilled and refrigerated within 1-2 hours, depending on the room temperature.

Refrigerating

Leftover baby food can be refrigerated and used within 1- 2 days. (products with meats /poultry/ rice up to one day and fruit/vegetables two days)

If there is any food left in your baby's bowl after a meal, throw it away. Food that has been in contact with saliva contains bacteria that will multiply if left.

Freezing

You should never re-freeze baby food that has already been frozen and for that reason, it is best to divide the cooled food into smaller containers for freezing. A flexible ice-cube tray works great for this

  1. Fill each ice-cube section almost to the top with the baby food.
  2. Cover (with a lid or some wrap) and freeze until frozen.
  3. Clearly label and date a freezer bag/container.
  4. Once the ice cubes are fully frozen, quickly pop them all out and place into the labelled bag/container
  5. Return to the freezer.

Properly frozen, the food can be stored in the freezer for two months.

Thawing and Re-heating Baby Food

  • The best way to defrost purees it to refrigerate overnight and use within 24 hours. Never defrost on the countertop.
  • You can also reheat from frozen.
  • Reheat baby food until piping hot to kill off bacteria. Allow to cool and always test the temperature of the food before giving your baby.
  • You can reheat on the stovetop or microwave. Make sure to continually stir the food to ensure it is properly heated and to get rid of hot spots.
  • Only re-heat once. Leftover baby food, that has been reheated should be discarded.

Summary of Important Safety Tips

  • Always check expiry dates on packaged baby food and make sure packaging is not damaged/tampered.
  • Never feed a baby straight from a jar/pouch. Instead, transfer a small amount to a separate container.
  • If there is any food left in your baby's bowl after a meal, throw it away.
  • Cool freshly cooked baby food as quickly as possible.
  • Freeze purees, as soon as there are cool, in small portions.
  • Never re-freeze meals that have already been frozen.
  • Thaw frozen food in the refrigerator and use within 24 hours.
  • When reheating food, make sure it is piping hot throughout and let it cool before giving your baby.
  • Do not re-heat food more than once.

Sources

  1. NSW Government Food Authority, Food Poisoning, Viewed 10th October 2020, <https://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/consumer/food-poisoning>

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Meet Amy

Amy Whiteford runs the blog Healthy Little Foodies. She is a mum to two, has a BSc (Hons) Food Science, PGDE Primary Education and a Certificate in Childhood Nutrition. She uses her experience and knowledge to create healthy and delicious recipes for kids. Explore the site for creative ideas, tips, and inspiration! Read more

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Storing Baby Food | Happy Baby Organics

Read time: 6 minutes

  • How to store homemade baby food and store-bought pureed foods

  • How to thaw and re-heat pureed baby food

  • How to help prevent bacterial contamination of baby foods

Whether you buy baby food at the market or make it from scratch, it’s important to know how to store, prepare, and reheat your baby’s food correctly and safely.

Store-bought baby food usually comes in a glass jar, plastic container, or pouch and usually does not require refrigeration or freezing before opening. These foods are manufactured to be shelf-stable, like any other pantry item (think beans, soups, or condiments). They can typically stay fresh on the shelf for 1 to 2 years, but always check expiration dates carefully.1

Baby food storage guidelines

  • Pureed store-bought baby vegetables and fruits can stay in the refrigerator for up to 48 to 72 hours and in the freezer for 6 to 8 months.

  • Pureed store-bought meat, poultry, or fish can be refrigerated for 24 hours after cooking and frozen for 1 to 2 months.

  • Homemade baby foods will keep for 24 to 48 hours in the refrigerator and for 1 to 2 months in the freezer.2

Be sure to refrigerate freshly cooked baby food within two hours as bacteria will start to grow at room temperature after those two hours are up. Note that your refrigerator should be kept at, or below, 40 degrees F. Any warmer and illness-causing bacteria can thrive and quickly multiply.3

Want some tips on feeding your little one or on making baby food? The Happy Baby Experts are infant feeding specialists and here to help (for free!) with questions about starting solids and picky eating, as well as formula and breastfeeding. Chat now!

Can I feed baby directly from the jar or pouch?

If you feed your little one directly from the jar or pouch, all leftovers must be thrown out after the meal. Saliva from baby’s mouth gets back into the jar or pouch via the spoon, this introduces bacteria that can quickly multiply and contaminate the food.

If you know baby won’t finish it all, spoon a serving in a separate bowl and feed from that. Then you can refrigerate the jar or pouch of remaining food for an upcoming meal!4

Read more: How Can I Make my own Pureed Baby Food?

How to warm refrigerated or shelf-stable foods and thaw frozen foods:

  • Microwave: Warm up store-bought food directly in its glass jar or transfer the food – including previously frozen purees – into a separate glass bowl (never heat up pureed food in a plastic container or pouch). Reduce the microwave to 50% power (or use the defrost feature) and then warm the puree in 15 second increments.4 Check and stir the food thoroughly each time to ensure even heating and to eliminate any heat pockets that may burn your baby’s mouth.

  • Stovetop: Warm your baby’s store-bought food or thaw frozen baby food on the stovetop by placing the food in a small saucepan and warming on low heat until the puree is the same consistency and no longer frozen. To preserve the nutrients, heat only as much as is necessary.

  • Submersion Method: Thaw frozen baby food by placing the pureed cubes in a plastic bag and then inside a bowl filled with hot or warm water. This method allows for even warming but does take a little longer – figure about 10-20 minutes for the food to thaw fully. 5 Many parents also use the submersion method to thaw frozen breastmilk.

  • Refrigerator: Thaw frozen baby food simply by transferring it to the refrigerator. 5 This process will take 4-12 hours so plan ahead (transferring the food the night before it’s needed to allow thawing overnight is a good rule of thumb). Homemade frozen baby food that’s been thawed can safely stay in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Be sure to keep thawed baby food in a sealed container to avoid contamination.

  • DO NOT let baby food thaw for long periods of time on the counter at room temperature. This will allow bacteria to grow.5

How to freeze baby food
Freeze purees in ice cube trays or on a cookie sheet

  • Sanitize or thoroughly clean standard ice cube trays before spooning the puree directly into each cubed section. You could also cover a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper and spoon small ‘mounds’ of puree onto the sheet to freeze.

  • Cover the tray with plastic wrap and place into the freezer.

  • Once the cubes or ‘mounds’ are solidly frozen, pop them out and store them in plastic freezer bags.

  • Label the bags with the type of baby food as well as the date. This allows you to use it before it expires. (Remember: store-bought fruits and veggies can be frozen for 6 to 8 months, while meats, poultry, and all home-made baby food can be frozen for 1 to 2 months).

  • When your baby is ready to eat, grab an individual portion of the cubes you want to use and thaw!

Ice cube trays are not only convenient, they are also incredibly helpful in portioning out homemade baby food. The cubes are roughly one ounce each, so you can easily measure the amount of food your baby is eating and thaw small portions at a time to reduce waste.

Do not freeze food in glass containers

Glass baby food jars (or any glass container) are not meant to be frozen. Frozen glass can burst or cause tiny fractures in the glass leaving behind microscopic shards that you may never see.Freeze baby food in safe “ok to freeze” plastic containers instead.

Consider a deep freezer if you want to store purees long-term

For best results, frozen foods should remain at a constant sub-zero temperature. A deep freezer is better equipped to handle this temperature control as opposed to your regular freezer, which may fluctuate with you opening and closing the door often.

Throw away leftover food that’s already been reheated

You cannot reheat (or re-freeze) baby food more than once, so once you’ve thawed a frozen puree, toss any leftovers. This rule also applies to breastmilk. So if you’re using breastmilk to thin out your homemade baby food purees, add the milk while it’s fresh!

Read more: Safe Storage of Pumped Breastmilk

You can also use formula to thin a puree. Do not freeze formula in its original can or bottle, but once mixed into a puree it’s ok to freeze. Freezing formula causes a separation of the fats from the liquid, which may negatively impact the texture and quality. 6

Let’s Chat!

We know parenting often means sleepless nights, stressful days, and countless questions and confusion, and we want to support you in your feeding journey and beyond.

Our Happy Baby Experts are a team of lactation consultants and registered dietitian nutritionists certified in infant and maternal nutrition – and they’re all moms, too, which means they’ve been there and seen that. They’re here to help on our free, live chat platform Monday through Friday, from 8am–6pm ET. Chat Now!


Read more about the experts that help write our content!

For more on this topic check out the following articles


How do I Choose Store Bought Baby Food?

Food Safety for Babies and Toddlers

Everything You Need to Know About How to Prepare and Store Infant Formula

Avoid Giving Your Child Too Much Sugar And Salt

How to prepare and store baby food

Making homemade baby food is not only fun, but also very easy. You will be surprised to see that the puree actually takes less time than you thought. Also, after cooking, you should know how to properly store the product. We learned more about this topic at Wholesomebabyfood.momtastic, and we share the information with you.

Material content

©wholesomebabyfood.momtastic

Start by steaming fruits/vegetables, or roast in the oven or simply boil. Steaming maintains most of the nutrients. Steaming, baking and boiling allow you to produce large batches of food at the same time. Take vegetables or fruits and put them in a blender. Pour out the liquid in which the vegetables/fruits were cooked. This will be the liquid you add to the puree.

It also helps retain any nutrients that may have entered the water during cooking. You can thin the puree with breast milk or plain water. Mix the products in a blender until a homogeneous texture is formed. Add liquid and continue beating. By the way, for some vegetables, such as carrots, you should not use the water (in which it was boiled) to thin the puree.

Now it's time to prepare the puree for freezing. Divide puree into small containers, fill and halfway. By the way, you can add liquid even after freezing, just before serving. More on freezing below.

©wholesomebabyfood.momtastic

Never freeze homemade baby food in glass containers that are not specifically labeled "freeze-safe". For example, old jars are not meant to be frozen. Having received liquid puree, you can spread them into ice-freezing trays. Fill each cube with puree as if you were filling a tray with water for making ice cubes.

Cover the tray with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. Once the puree cubes are set and frozen, remove the trays from the freezer and transfer the puree to freezer bags. Each cube is approximately 30 ml. Be sure to label the bag with the cooking date as well as the type of food. Baby food cubes should be used within a month of freezing. When it's time to feed your baby, simply take out the required amount of food and defrost and then reheat.

©wholesomebabyfood.momtastic

Fresh homemade baby food puree is recommended to be stored for no more than 48 hours. This time limit ensures that the chance of bacterial growth in the puree is minimized and that the food does not take on a "refrigerator taste". This "rule" applies to vegetables, fruits, meat.

If you do not plan to freeze homemade baby food, puree every day or every other day. For example, one sweet potato can be baked and then you can freeze one half without mashing it and puree the other half later. This method will help reduce "waste" and also help ensure food safety.

©wholesomebabyfood.momtastic

Experts say it takes a baby 15 to 21 times to taste a food before a true like or dislike is established. If you are just starting to introduce solid foods, you really will not be able to determine how the baby relates to this or that food. This happens much later.

Freezing the puree allows you to go back and try giving your baby the “rejected” food again. Even if you strictly adhere to the 3-4 day waiting rule. Freeze baby food anyway for optimal food safety.

©wholesomebabyfood.momtastic

Refrigerate or freeze perishable foods within two hours of purchase or preparation. If the room temperature is above 32 degrees, refrigerate perishable food for one hour. Freeze minced meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish if you don't plan on eating them within two days. Beef, veal, lamb or pork should be frozen within three to five days.

You can put your prepared food in the refrigerator and then pack it in the freezer within 2-3 hours. It is safe to leave cooked food in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours

Salt and sugar are never needed when preparing baby food. Omit these foods, preferably whenever your child is eating. Other spices such as cinnamon, garlic powder, pepper can be introduced as early as 7 months after consulting a pediatrician. Remember, always check with your pediatrician about introducing solid foods to your baby. Discuss especially any foods that may pose an allergy risk to your baby.

Infant formula temperature: what temperature should infant formula be?

Tiunova Elena

Published: 01/15/2023

Reading time: 5 min

2123

Formula Basics

Mother's milk is the best food for a newborn. However, lactation does not occur in all women, and sometimes there is too little milk. In this case, infant formula comes to the rescue - a special food created taking into account all the needs of your baby. What temperature should be the infant formula and how to achieve ideal performance, we will tell in this article.

“To prepare nutrition, put the required amount of dry formula into a sterile bottle and fill it with boiled water at about 40 degrees or special bottled baby water. Mix thoroughly with a sterile spoon or shake the bottle vigorously. Check the food temperature and you can feed the baby.”

Tiunova Elena

Pediatrician of the highest category, nutritionist, candidate of medical sciences, associate professor of the department of faculty pediatrics and propaedeutics of childhood diseases, Ural State Medical University

For ease of breeding, some mothers literally pour the mixture with boiling water. And this is a big mistake, because too hot water destroys the nutrients in baby food. Boiling water can be used, but only on the condition that it is diluted before you pour it into the infant formula.

Separately about water

When choosing water, pay attention to its labeling. Bottled has the designation "for food" or "for the preparation of mixtures." The second option does not contain a large amount of mineral salts, so it does not disturb the balance of the mixture. Moreover, it is recommended to use filtered and boiled tap water only in the most extreme cases. If you do not have the opportunity to regularly buy bottled water, purchase a special "children's" filter. It does an excellent job of purifying running water, making it more or less suitable for baby food.

Assistant devices

In the age of digital solutions and smart technology, any household issues, including maintaining the optimal water temperature for diluting the mixture, are solved with the help of assistant devices. Purchase an electric kettle with a built-in thermometer or a heater that allows you to maintain a constant optimum temperature around the clock - so you will always have “ready” water for cooking at hand.

How to measure the mixture temperature?

There are several ways to measure. You can, as described above, use a kettle or heater with a predetermined temperature. It's fast and convenient. Breeding the mixture in the classical way, it is necessary to measure its temperature before giving it to the baby. For this you can use:

• special liquid thermometers;

• infrared thermometers;

• own wrist. Apply a few drops of nutrition to the back of the most delicate and sensitive part of the wrist. If it's hot for you, it will be hot for the baby;

• temple area. It is also a sensitive and therefore "test" zone. Attach the bottle to the right or left temple - it should not burn the skin, you should feel a light and comfortable warmth.

Never try to determine the temperature of the mixture by sipping from the bottle or by dipping your finger into it.

There are always a lot of bacteria in the mouth and on the hands, they can be potentially dangerous for the health of the child - do not risk it!

If the mixture is too cold or too hot?

If the mixture is too hot, it is recommended to wait a little while feeding, it will cool down at room temperature in 10-15 minutes.

If your baby is worried, you can cool the food by placing the bottle in a bowl of cold water.

If the food is cold, proceed in the same way, only by changing the temperature: place the mixture in a bowl of warm water. Do not use a microwave for this, food warms up unevenly in it, and there is a big risk for the baby to get burned. After cooling or heating, the temperature of the mixture must be checked before giving it to the child.


How to formulate?

In addition to strictly following the instructions for storing and breeding baby food, it must be given to the baby correctly.

Baby food is served to the baby in a bottle that is convenient for him (watch the material of the nipple and the size of the hole: if it is too small, the child simply will not be able to eat, and if it is too large, he may choke). Before feeding, the bottle must be sterilized: you can use a pot of boiling water, a special sterilizer or a dishwasher for this.

Another important note: if the child is fully bottle-fed, or the baby is sick (especially if there is a high temperature or diarrhea), it must be supplemented. The amount of liquid for supplementation during the day corresponds to the volume of one feeding. To do this, choose special baby water, which can be bought at a specialized store, a dedicated department of a supermarket or a pharmacy. Bottled water is also suitable for making infant formula. All questions about the drinking regimen of a baby on artificial or mixed feeding must be checked with a pediatrician!

How to choose the right formula

There are many types of infant formula on the market. Conventionally, they can be divided into three main options:

  • Dry, in the form of a powder that must be diluted with water.
  • Liquid, prepackaged in sterile packaging, ready for use.

Regardless of the type of formula, it must be brought to the correct temperature before feeding the baby. This can be done with water (in the case of dry options) or simply by heating the package in a water bath (in the case of the finished mixture). It is recommended to choose your option with a pediatrician. However, it must be understood that regurgitation, infantile colic and constipation in most cases are associated with age-related characteristics of the developing gastrointestinal tract and can sometimes increase with a change in diet or the introduction of new products.

Expert advice

Nevertheless, according to the recommendations of doctors, the main thing in choosing an adapted formula is its tolerance. This means, first of all, the absence of allergic reactions, as well as serious dyspeptic manifestations: regurgitation and vomiting, loose stools or constipation. Most modern adapted milk formulas contain all the necessary nutrients and vitamins:

• protein;

• fatty acids, including polyunsaturated ones;

• prebiotics and probiotics;

• biologically active ingredients, including the carotenoid lutein found in breast milk.

The composition includes a complex of minerals and vitamins in the proper ratio, corresponding to the needs of a child under the age of one year. In accordance with the methodological recommendations of the “Program for optimizing the feeding of children in the first year of life in the Russian Federation”, it is only important to correctly calculate the volume of the mixture, based on the age of the baby, as well as body weight.

Learn more