Chemical in baby food

Homemade baby food contains as many toxic metals as store bought, report says

CNN —

Making baby food at home with store-bought produce isn’t going to reduce the amount of toxic heavy metals in the food your baby eats, according to a new report released exclusively to CNN.

“We found no evidence to suggest that homemade baby foods made from store-bought produce are better than store-bought baby foods when it comes to heavy metal contamination,” said the paper’s coauthor Jane Houlihan, research director for Healthy Babies, Bright Futures. An alliance of nonprofits, scientists and donors, HBBF, which produced the report, has a stated mission of reducing babies’ exposures to neurotoxic chemicals.

READ MORE: Manufacturers allowed baby food contaminated with heavy metals to remain on shelves, lawmakers say

Researchers tested 288 foods bought at stores and farmers markets across the United States – including grains, fruits, vegetables, snacks, teething foods, and family items that babies eat, such as cereals and rice cakes – for lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium. Those heavy metals are among the World Health Organization’s top 10 chemicals of concern for infants and children.

“Toxic metal exposure can be harmful to the developing brain. It’s been linked with problems with learning, cognition, and behavior,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Researchers also pored over data from 7,000 additional food tests reported in published studies and by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Results showed 94% of manufactured baby foods, family foods and homemade purees made from purchased raw foods contained detectable amounts of one or more heavy metals.

Lead was found in 90% of manufactured baby food bought by shoppers for the report and 80% of store-bought family food and homemade purees. There is no safe level of lead, according to the AAP.

Arsenic was found in 68% store-bought baby food and 72% of family food either purchased or prepared at home. Cadmium was found in 65% of purchased baby food and 60% of family foods, and mercury was in 7% of store-bought baby food and 10% of family foods. (The highest levels of mercury are found in seafood, which was not tested in this analysis.)

READ MORE: 95% of tested baby foods in the US contain toxic metals, report says

The new report is a follow-up to a November 2019 report in which Healthy Babies, Bright Futures tested 168 foods purchased from major baby food manufacturers. That analysis found 95% of store-bought baby food contained lead, 73% contained arsenic, 75% contained cadmium and 32% contained mercury. One-fourth of the foods tested that year contained all four heavy metals.

“After that report we saw so many people saying you can get around this problem by making your own baby food at home, so we decided to check,” Houlihan said. “We suspected we’d find heavy metals in all kinds of food because they’re ubiquitous contaminants in the environment.

“And that is exactly what we found – heavy metals were in foods from every section of the store,” Houlihan said. “What this says is that as the FDA is setting standards for heavy metals in baby food, they need to go beyond the baby food aisle. ”

What’s a parent or caregiver to do? Feed baby with as many different types of foods as possible, said pediatrician Dr. Mark Corkins, chair of the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was not involved in the study.

“If you spread foods out, and offer a wide variety of options, you’ll have less toxicity,” Corkins said. “And nutritionally that’s always been the right thing to do to get the most micronutrients from the food you eat.”

The report found buying organic didn’t lower heavy metal levels either, which was “not shocking or surprising,” said Corkins, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

“It’s the soil and water that’s contaminated with arsenic and other heavy metals, so it doesn’t matter if it’s organic or traditional farming methods,” Corkins said. That would apply to locally grown crops or even backyard gardens, if the soil had not been verified to be metal-free.

However, buying organic can help avoid other toxins the new report did not consider, such as herbicides and pesticides, said Dr. Leonardo Trasande, director of environmental pediatrics at NYU Langone Health. He was not involved in the study.

“There are other benefits to eating organic food, including a reduction in synthetic pesticides that are known to be as bad for babies, if not even more problematic,” Trasande said.

READ MORE: Doctors should test levels of PFAS in people at high risk, report says

“We’ve seen multiple studies show significant effects of synthetic pesticides on cognitive function in children as a result of prenatal exposure. We’ve seen images of the brain where certain parts are smaller that are crucial for higher order functioning after exposure,” he added. “A simple step would simply be to say eat organic because regardless of anything we’re talking about in this report, it’s good for you.”

Experts agree that battling toxins in baby foods is a job for government organizations who will need to work with growers, suppliers and manufacturers to institute regulations and safeguards. In the meantime, parents can make a difference.

“Making even one simple choice every day to lower a child’s exposure will make a difference, whether that’s staying away from rice-based snacks and serving a diced apple instead or choosing not to serve carrots and sweet potatoes every day,” Houlihan said.

“With heavy metals and other toxins the risks add up over a lifetime,” she added. “So even if some of these foods had been served to a child up to their second birthday, starting from there to lower exposure to toxins is going to add up. Every choice matters.”

Tested foods with low metal content contain one-eighth as much heavy metal contamination as foods with the highest levels, Houlihan said. These are foods that can be “eaten freely,” the report suggested.

Fresh bananas, with heavy metal levels of 1.8 parts per billion, were the least contaminated of foods tested for the report. That’s an “82-fold difference in average level of total heavy metals” from the most contaminated food, rice cakes, which tested at 147 parts per billion, according to the investigation.

READ MORE: ‘Consider chemical hazards’ in the baby foods you sell, FDA warns manufacturers

After bananas, the least contaminated foods were grits, manufactured baby food meats, butternut squash, lamb, apples, pork, eggs, oranges and watermelon, in that order. Other foods with lower levels of contamination included green beans, peas, cucumbers, and soft or pureed home-cooked meats, the report found.

Infant formula made with lead-free tap water was recommended. Tap water that has been tested and is free of lead is always a good choice. Milk is also a good choice, but only for babies 12 months and older.

Some healthy lower-metal foods, such as yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, beans, cheese, hard-boiled eggs and grapes that have been cut lengthwise, were good choices for snacks for babies, according to the report.

Fresh and frozen fruit – including those used in homemade purees – were options as well. But don’t use canned fruits if you can avoid it: “Tests find lead 30 times more often in canned fruit than in fresh and frozen fruit,” the report stated.

Parents and caregivers can also lower their baby’s exposure to heavy metals by making some smart substitutions, the report said.

Using a frozen banana for a teething baby instead of a rice-based teething biscuit or rice rusk could lower total intake of heavy metals by 95%, according to the report. Another suggested teething aid: peeled and chilled cucumber spears.

The most heavily contaminated foods eaten by babies were all rice-based: “Rice cakes, rice puffs, crisped rice cereals and brown rice with no cooking water removed are heavily contaminated with inorganic arsenic, which is the more toxic form of arsenic,” Houlihan said.

Arsenic is a natural element found in soil, water and air, and because rice is grown in water, it is especially good at absorbing inorganic arsenic. (“Inorganic” is a chemical term and has nothing to do with the method of farming.) Brown and wild rice are the worst offenders, as the bran contains the highest arsenic concentrations.

READ MORE: New FDA limits on arsenic levels in infant rice cereals don’t adequately protect children, critics say

Prior research has shown that even low levels of inorganic arsenic exposure can impact a baby’s neurodevelopment. A meta-analysis of studies on the topic found a 50% increase in arsenic levels in urine would be associated with a 0.4-point decrease in the IQ of children between the ages of 5 and 15.

Testing by HBBF found rice cakes were the most contaminated with inorganic arsenic, followed by crisped rice cereal, rice-based puffs and brown rice. The report recommended those foods be avoided entirely, unless the brown rice is cooked with extra water that is poured off before consumption (much like pasta). It’s best to do that with all rice, including white and wild rice, the report said, as it can reduce arsenic levels by up to 60%.

Rice-based teething biscuits or rusks and white rice came next on the most contaminated list, the report said. White rice is milled to remove the outer layers, but experts say arsenic levels remain high enough to be concerning, especially if rice is a daily staple.

“Inorganic arsenic averaged 100 parts per billion in brown rice infant cereal and 74 parts per billion in white rice infant cereal in our tests,” Houlihan said. “Baby food companies have taken brown rice cereal off the market because of its high arsenic levels.”

READ MORE: Water- and stain-resistant products contain toxic plastics, study says. Here’s what to do

Parents and caregivers can help by staying away from high-arsenic varieties of white rice grown in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, or simply “US” and instead choosing lower-arsenic basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan, as well as sushi rice from the US, the report said.

After rice-based foods, the analysis found the highest levels of heavy metals in raisins, non-rice teething crackers, granola bars with raisins and oat-ring cereals. But those were not the only foods of concern: Dried fruit, grape juice, arrowroot teething crackers and sunflower seed butter all contained high amounts of at least one toxic metal, according to the report.

“Many foods have a kind of unique, heavy metal profile,” Houlihan explained. “For example, we saw very high levels of cadmium in things like spinach, leaf lettuce and peanut butter.”

However, the human body doesn’t absorb cadmium as easily as other heavy metals, and for that reason “it doesn’t have as high a level of concern,” Houlihan added.

“There’s also not as much evidence that cadmium is neurotoxic to babies, or at least the body of evidence isn’t there at the same levels as lead and arsenic,” she said. “Lead and arsenic damage isn’t reversible – these are permanent impacts on IQ, learning ability and behavior, so it’s a big deal.”

Root and tuber vegetables may have higher levels of heavy metals like lead and arsenic because they grow underground. In fact, the investigation found that nutritious baby favorites like carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and many types of potatoes did have concerning levels of heavy metals.

READ MORE: Dangerous chemicals found in food wrappers at major fast-food restaurants and grocery chains, report says

Even the same food could have varying levels of toxic metals, according to the report. For example, a shopper in Raleigh, North Carolina, bought a sweet potato with 60.7 parts per billion of lead – 10 times more than the store-bought sweet potato puree she purchased. A Chicago shopper purchased a fresh carrot with eight times more arsenic than the premade carrot baby food she took home, the investigation found.

Yet shoppers in Tennessee and California found the opposite – their fresh produce had minimal levels of heavy metals compared with the manufactured baby food brands they bought.

“As a parent, you don’t know what you’re picking up out of the produce bin,” Houlihan said. “Is it elevated because of the cultivar – the particular type of sweet potato or carrot? Or is it elevated because it’s grown in an area where the soil has naturally high levels of lead?

Answering these questions will be the responsibility of government regulators and industry, Houlihan said. The FDA has a Closer to Zero campaign, for example, which could take on the issue.

CNN has reached out to the FDA for comment but hasn’t yet received a response.

“And remember, if you’re protecting the basic ingredients that parents are using to make food at home, you’re not only protecting babies and toddlers, you’re protecting pregnant women as well. Babies in utero are particularly vulnerable to toxins while the brain is growing at such a rapid pace.”

With no way of knowing levels of toxic metals in the soil where produce is grown, parents and caregivers need to add one more step to their efforts to avoid these substances, Houlihan suggested. In addition to mixing up the variety of foods and not serving the same options each day, parents can “choose different brands or varieties of foods or shop in different stores from week to week to avoid choosing a high-metal source regularly. ”

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High levels of toxins found in more baby food brands, government report says

CBS Mornings

September 29, 2021 / 9:45 AM / CBS News

Toxic heavy metals found in baby food

New report finds high levels of toxic heavy metals in baby food 06:10

Eight months after a congressional report shed light on the issue of toxins in baby food, a new report finds more cases of major manufacturers selling baby food with high levels of toxic heavy metals.

The report, out Wednesday from the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, describes dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and other toxins, which can be particularly dangerous to developing babies and toddlers.

Investigators said two of Gerber's Infant Rice Cereal products contained inorganic arsenic levels over the Food and Drug Administration's limit. They said Gerber "failed to recall" those products.

Most of Plum Organics' products contained heavy metals too, including popular Superpuff snacks. And they said Walmart raised the amount of arsenic it allowed in its products, going from an internal company standard of 23 parts per billion to the maximum allowed by FDA of 100 parts per billion.

"No level of toxic heavy metals and exposure to them is safe for a baby," said Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, the chairman of the economic and consumer policy subcommittee.

CBS News reached out to the companies named. Gerber did not answer whether it failed to recall products, but said it "follows a consistent and rigorous testing plan which includes regular testing of finished products" and increases testing "for products that have a history of naturally occurring level(s) of heavy metals."

Walmart said it requires products to meet FDA guidelines, its specifications have always been aligned "with or below … FDA requirements," and it's "committed to providing high quality … baby food products that are safe and nutritious."

But Krishnamoorthi wants stronger federal standards. He said he doesn't believe the issue can be left to companies to fix.

"They haven't so far shown either the capacity or the willingness to regulate themselves. You need a federal regulator in the form of FDA to be regulating them closely," he said.

But one company is not waiting for the government to step in.

Jay Highman, the founder and CEO of Nature's One, which makes organic baby formula, monitors everything at his manufacturing facility outside Columbus, Ohio.

"Everything's in quarantine initially when it comes here," he told CBS News consumer investigative correspondent Anna Werner. "For it to come here, it's already gone through an elaborate qualification process."

To make sure his products are pure, ingredients are tested for heavy metal toxins before they even reach the building.

"It's constant surveillance and testing and working with our suppliers," Highman said.

The finished products are also periodically tested, so Highman can work to keep toxins like arsenic and lead out of his products.

But about 10 years ago, it was a different story.

"We were the poster child for the first toxins identified in certain ingredients," he said.

In 2012, Nature's One made headlines after a university study found arsenic in its organic baby formula.

"This 2012 event was so shocking," Highman said. "Because we were in this beautiful place in our mind that we're doing everything possible that we could. "

His company was testing for toxins, but he says the commercial labs he used couldn't test down to the lower levels in that study. It turned out, the arsenic was in an ingredient called brown rice syrup.

Customers were furious and business "went to zero."

"It was a difficult time. It really was," Highman said. "It's emotional."

That, he says, was the turning point. Since then, he's dedicated himself to keeping toxins out.

"Without a doubt, it hardened our resolve to always be ahead of it. We want to know what's in our product," he said.

Highman said he didn't need to wait for government regulations to take action.

"It's up to me to have a conscience for my consumer," he said. "It's cost us more to go through this process, but is there really any price you wouldn't pay to remove a toxin that's harmful to a child in its later years or development years? I say no."

The subcommittee report also said some samples of Beech-Nut products had more inorganic arsenic than the FDA's limit and a subsequent recall in June was too narrow. Beech-Nut told CBS News that is incorrect and said it "proactively withdrew all those rice cereal products from supermarket shelves" and decided to stop selling infant rice products because it "is concerned about being able to consistently obtain rice flour well-below the FDA guidance level."

The FDA's "closer to zero" program would set allowable federal levels for some heavy metals, but final guidance isn't scheduled until 2024. Krishnamoorthi wants to have some of those timelines moved up, but the agency said "it's crucial that measures to limit toxic elements in foods do not have unintended consequences," such as making it more difficult for families to get foods with significant nutritional benefits.

Trending News

First published on September 29, 2021 / 9:45 AM

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Myths and Truths About Canned Food - 19 Answers

Myth 1: Homemade purees and juices have more vitamins than commercial baby food.

Reality: Fresh vegetables and fruits are rich in vitamins only in "their" season. Several months of storage - even with all the norms, which, unfortunately, is extremely rare - and apart from fiber and starch, there is little left in them. When mashing fresh vegetables and fruits, most of the vitamins and nutrients also "disappear". So, when cooking, about 20% of vitamin B and more than 50% of vitamin C are lost. It is impossible to restore the lost “wealth” at home. But the product prepared in industrial conditions has everything you need. Some canned foods for children are additionally enriched with beta-carotene, iron, iodine, potassium and vitamin C in doses approaching the daily requirement of children of the corresponding age.

In addition, no one will give you a guarantee that the vegetables and fruits bought at the market have grown in an ecologically clean area, and not on the side of the highway. When buying them, you cannot check if they contain lead and radionuclides. And, of course, no one will admit to you that they were fertilized with chemical fertilizers. Do you feed the crumbs only with what has grown in your garden and in the garden? Do you take eggs and meat from a well-known neighbor? Unfortunately, even here it is impossible to fully guarantee the safety of products. Who knows how and where a nearby industrial plant dumps waste?.. As for canned food, it is made from proven quality products grown, harvested, processed and packaged in compliance with all safety standards.

Myth 2: Canned food contains dangerous preservatives

Fact: The use of chemical preservatives in baby food is prohibited. Modern heat treatment technologies and vacuum packaging provide the possibility of long-term storage of the product without their use. As a "preservative" in the industrial production of baby food, only vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is used, which does not cause any harm to the child's body and significantly increases the nutritional value of the product.

Myth 3: There are a lot of additives in baby food.

Actually: In addition to the main product, the composition of canned children really includes a certain set of components (corn or wheat starch, rice flour, etc.) Each of them performs a specific function, thereby ensuring the balance of the product due to complementary combination of different ingredients. Additional additives significantly increase the nutritional value and contribute to the easy digestibility of the product. Purees and juices of industrial production correspond to the metabolic characteristics of the child's body. But the use of flavors, spices, dyes and flavorings in the production of baby food is prohibited.

Myth 4: Children are allergic to canned food.

Reality: Commercially produced canned children's food is made taking into account the health characteristics of modern children. Manufacturers produce special foods for babies with intolerance to cow's milk proteins, gluten (cereal protein) or food allergies. As for the allergic reaction to canned food, in most cases it is due to improper introduction of complementary foods. Often, mothers rush ahead of time to please the kids with a new delicacy. Without knowing it, they expose the child's body to excessive stress. As a result, a child not accustomed to such delights is covered with an allergic rash. To prevent this, follow the basic rules for the introduction of complementary foods. Each new product should be given to the baby in a small amount, gradually increasing the dose. If the product causes allergies, then it should be excluded from the child's diet for a while. Practice shows that the risk of adverse reactions, if all the rules for the introduction of complementary foods for canned products are observed, is less than for homemade ones.

Myth 5: Canned food is more expensive.

Actual: Maybe homemade applesauce or mashed potatoes really are cheaper. But children need variety in their diet. Calculate how many apricots (peaches, cherries, zucchini, cauliflower) you need to prepare 100 g of the corresponding puree. And how much do these products cost in winter? The simplest arithmetic calculations show that a portion of home-made puree will cost much more than a similar jar of ready-made puree. At the same time, we do not take into account the time spent searching for the necessary ingredients and preparing mashed potatoes. Not to mention the fact that, for example, it is difficult to find good fresh vegetables and fruits in winter.

Myth 6: Children eat better puree and juice.

Real: Indeed, sometimes children eat homemade puree better. This is due to the fact that, as a rule, mothers add salt or sugar to the puree to improve the taste, which are not in canned food. At the same time, children under 1.5 years of age are categorically not recommended to add salt and sweeten food. The fact is that the child's kidneys are not yet sufficiently developed and poorly remove sodium salt from the body. And an excessive amount of sugar contributes to the development of caries, puts a strain on the pancreas and forms the habit of sweets. As long as the child has not tasted salt and sugar, he can easily do without them and eat mashed potatoes from jars with pleasure. But, having recognized the salty or sweet taste, he begins to feel the need for it and categorically rejects healthy, but insipid jar food.

Myth 7: Baby food is often faked.

Reality: Now in Russia there is a strict control over the quality of baby food. All food that goes on sale undergoes strict expert control. The examination includes an assessment of the compliance of products with safety standards, a study of nutritional value (content of proteins, fats, vitamins, etc. ). An organoleptic examination is mandatory: taste, smell, color, separation / non-stratification of the product, its dissolution rate, packaging. Information in the media about withdrawals from the sale of the next batch of low-quality baby food is explained precisely by strict control over the quality of baby food. By purchasing "jars" in large stores, you protect yourself from low-quality goods.

Myth 8: After canning, it will be difficult for a child to switch to an "adult" table.

Actually: Difficulties in the transition from ready-made food to the "adult" table are associated with the use of canned food that does not correspond to the age of the baby. Often, mothers up to 10-12 months feed the baby puree intended for 3-4-month-old crumbs, and then abruptly transfer it to “solid” food. Such a sharp transition will not only be difficult for the baby, but will also adversely affect the work of the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, the child "skips" the food intended for 6, 8 and 10-month-old children, and his body remains unprepared for the transition to the "adult" table. After all, ready-made food is produced with different degrees of grinding. For children up to 6 months - homogenized purees, for 6-8-month-old babies - puree, and for children over 9months with teeth - coarsely ground products. Depending on the age of the child, the development of the skill of chewing, he needs to buy products, taking into account the degree of their grinding - from homogenized puree to those containing small pieces. Canned nutrition, appropriate for age, gradually "prepares" the child's gastrointestinal tract for "adult" food. While at home it is very difficult to monitor the consistency of mashed potatoes and gradually change it.

Benefits:

- Canned food contains all the necessary nutrients, vitamins and trace elements in the right amount.

- The consistency of commercially produced puree is appropriate for the baby's age. While at home it is almost impossible to regulate the degree of grinding of the products that make up the puree.

- Canned food does not contain salt or sugar.

- Canned food for children is made from environmentally friendly raw materials.

- Canned food provides the child with a varied diet.

- Using industrial purees saves time. It is enough just to warm up the jar.

- Ready meals are easy to transport. You can take a jar with you on the road, on a visit or on a picnic. You will always have the opportunity to provide your baby with a complete diet.

When buying canned food, pay attention to:

Package integrity: If the can or lid is damaged, then you should not buy such food in any case.
Date of manufacture and expiration date: to ensure that the product is fit for consumption. On baby food, as a rule, expiration dates are displayed on the bottom or on the lid of the jar. If something is not clear, the numbers are erased or illegible - it is better not to purchase such a jar. Another indicator of the "suitability" of the product is the lid of the jar: if the product is fresh, its middle should be slightly depressed, and if it is expired or defective, it is swollen. When you open a fresh product, you should hear a characteristic pop, which indicates that the jar has been tightly closed.
Age indicated on the label. For example, an 8-month-old baby is not forbidden to offer fruit or vegetable puree, designed for a 5-6-month-old baby. But it is impossible to give a young child puree intended for an older age category.
Composition. It is necessary to choose the right food according to the ingredient composition. If the child does not tolerate milk or cottage cheese, then you cannot buy mashed potatoes based on them.

www.nanya.ru

Pro food in jars

Once we had such a conversation ... I remember ...
So this is on that topic.
(Source - "Nanny" magazine, 2005 No. 2)

Myths and truth about canned food.

Specialists are of the opinion that up to a year the most optimal nutrition for a child is special canned children of industrial production. But many mothers and especially grandmothers are distrustful of canned food. And first of all, it is explained by the lack of information and the abundance of myths associated with baby food.

Myth 1: Homemade purees and juices have more vitamins than commercial baby food.

In fact: Fresh vegetables and fruits are rich in vitamins only in their "own" season. Several months of storage - even with all the norms, which, unfortunately, is extremely rare - and apart from fiber and starch, there is little left in them. When mashing fresh vegetables and fruits, most of the vitamins and nutrients also "disappear". So, when cooking, about 20% of vitamin B and more than 50% of vitamin C are lost. It is impossible to restore the lost “wealth” at home. But the product prepared in industrial conditions has everything you need. Some canned foods for children are additionally enriched with beta-carotene, iron, iodine, potassium and vitamin C in doses approaching the daily requirement of children of the corresponding age.
In addition, no one will give you a guarantee that the vegetables and fruits bought at the market grew in an ecologically clean area, and not on the side of the highway. When buying them, you cannot check if they contain lead and radionuclides. And, of course, no one will admit to you that they were fertilized with chemical fertilizers. Do you feed the crumbs only with what has grown in your garden and in the garden? Do you take eggs and meat from a well-known neighbor? Unfortunately, even here it is impossible to fully guarantee the safety of products. Who knows how and where a nearby industrial plant dumps waste?.. As for canned food, it is made from proven quality products grown, harvested, processed and packaged in compliance with all safety standards.

Myth 2: Canned food contains dangerous preservatives

Fact: The use of chemical preservatives in the production of baby food is prohibited. Modern heat treatment technologies and vacuum packaging provide the possibility of long-term storage of the product without their use. As a "preservative" in the industrial production of baby food, only vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is used, which does not cause any harm to the child's body and significantly increases the nutritional value of the product.

Myth 3: There are a lot of additives in baby food.

In fact: In addition to the main product, the composition of canned children really includes a certain set of components (corn or wheat starch, rice flour, etc.) Each of them performs a specific function, thereby ensuring the balance of the product due to a complementary combination various ingredients. Additional additives significantly increase the nutritional value and contribute to the easy digestibility of the product. Purees and juices of industrial production correspond to the metabolic characteristics of the child's body. But the use of flavors, spices, dyes and flavorings in the production of baby food is prohibited.

Myth 4: Children are allergic to canned food.

Reality: Industrially produced canned children's products are made taking into account the health needs of modern children. Manufacturers produce special foods for babies with intolerance to cow's milk proteins, gluten (cereal protein) or food allergies. As for the allergic reaction to canned food, in most cases it is due to improper introduction of complementary foods. Often, mothers rush ahead of time to please the kids with a new delicacy. Without knowing it, they expose the child's body to excessive stress. As a result, a child not accustomed to such delights is covered with an allergic rash. To prevent this, follow the basic rules for the introduction of complementary foods. Each new product should be given to the baby in a small amount, gradually increasing the dose. If the product causes allergies, then it should be excluded from the child's diet for a while. Practice shows that the risk of adverse reactions, if all the rules for the introduction of complementary foods for canned products are observed, is less than for homemade ones.

Myth 5: Canned food is more expensive.

Reality: Maybe homemade applesauce or mashed potatoes really are cheaper. But children need variety in their diet. Count how many apricots (peaches, cherries, zucchini, cauliflower) you need to cook
100 g of the corresponding puree. And how much do these products cost in winter? The simplest arithmetic calculations show that a portion of home-made puree will cost much more than a similar jar of ready-made puree. At the same time, we do not take into account the time spent searching for the necessary ingredients and preparing mashed potatoes. Not to mention the fact that, for example, it is difficult to find good fresh vegetables and fruits in winter.

Myth 6: Freshly made puree and juice are better for children.

Reality: Sometimes kids are better off eating homemade puree. This is due to the fact that, as a rule, mothers add salt or sugar to the puree to improve the taste, which are not in canned food. At the same time, children under 1.5 years of age are categorically not recommended to add salt and sweeten food. The fact is that the child's kidneys are not yet sufficiently developed and poorly remove sodium salt from the body. And an excessive amount of sugar contributes to the development of caries, puts a strain on the pancreas and forms the habit of sweets. As long as the child has not tasted salt and sugar, he can easily do without them and eat mashed potatoes from jars with pleasure. But, having recognized the salty or sweet taste, he begins to feel the need for it and categorically rejects healthy, but insipid jar food.

Myth 7: Baby food is often counterfeited.

In fact: Now in Russia there is a strict control over the quality of baby food. All food that goes on sale undergoes strict expert control. The examination includes an assessment of the compliance of products with safety standards, a study of nutritional value (content of proteins, fats, vitamins, etc.). An organoleptic examination is mandatory: taste, smell, color, separation / non-stratification of the product, its dissolution rate, packaging. Information in the media about withdrawals from the sale of the next batch of low-quality baby food is explained precisely by strict control over the quality of baby food. By purchasing "jars" in large stores, you protect yourself from low-quality goods.

Myth 8: After canning, it will be difficult for a child to switch to an "adult" table.

In fact: Difficulties in the transition from ready-made food to the “adult” table are associated with the use of canned food that is inappropriate for the age of the baby. Often, mothers up to 10-12 months feed the baby puree intended for 3-4-month-old crumbs, and then abruptly transfer it to “solid” food. Such a sharp transition will not only be difficult for the baby, but will also adversely affect the work of the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, the child "skips" the food intended for 6, 8 and 10-month-old children, and his body remains unprepared for the transition to the "adult" table. After all, ready-made food is produced with different degrees of grinding. For children up to 6 months - homogenized purees, for 6-8-month-old babies - puree, and for children over 9months with teeth - coarsely ground products. Depending on the age of the child, the development of the skill of chewing, he needs to buy products, taking into account the degree of their grinding - from homogenized puree to those containing small pieces. Canned nutrition, appropriate for age, gradually "prepares" the child's gastrointestinal tract for "adult" food. While at home it is very difficult to monitor the consistency of mashed potatoes and gradually change it.

Benefits:

Canned food contains all the necessary nutrients, vitamins and trace elements in the right amount.

The consistency of commercial puree is appropriate for the baby's age. While at home it is almost impossible to regulate the degree of grinding of the products that make up the puree.

Canned food does not contain salt or sugar.

Baby canned food made from environmentally friendly raw materials.

Canned food provides the child with a varied diet.

Using commercial puree saves time. It is enough just to warm up the jar.

Ready meals are easy to transport. You can take a jar with you on the road, on a visit or on a picnic. You will always have the opportunity to provide your baby with a complete diet.

When buying canned food, pay attention to:

Integrity of packaging: if the jar or lid is damaged, then you should not buy such food in any case.

Date of manufacture and expiration date: it is necessary to check that the product is fit for consumption. On baby food, as a rule, expiration dates are displayed on the bottom or on the lid of the jar. If something is not clear, the numbers are erased or illegible - it is better not to purchase such a jar. Another indicator of the "suitability" of the product is the lid of the jar: if the product is fresh, its middle should be slightly depressed, and if it is expired or defective, it is swollen. When you open a fresh product, you should hear a characteristic pop, which indicates that the jar has been tightly closed.