Three month baby food

Feeding Your 1- to 3-Month-Old (for Parents)

During your baby's first 3 months, breast milk or formula will provide all the nutrition needed. Doctors recommend waiting until your baby is about 6 months old to start solid foods. Some babies may be ready for solids sooner than 6 months, but wait until your baby is at least 4 months old.

What Changes Should I Expect?

As your infant grows, feeding will change. Babies will start drinking more milk during each feeding, so they won't need to feed as often and will sleep longer at night.

Your baby's appetite will increase during growth spurts. Continue to feed on demand and increase the number of feedings as needed.

Your infant also will become more alert as the weeks go by, cooing and smiling. So there will be more interaction between you and your baby during feedings.

The following are general guidelines, and your baby may be hungrier more or less often than this. That's why it's important to pay attention to your baby's signals of being hungry or full. A baby who is getting enough might slow down, stop, or turn away from the breast or bottle.

Breastfeeding: How Much and How Often?

As babies get older, they will start to breastfeed less often and sleep for longer periods at night. Your infant probably is eating enough if he or she:

seems alert, content, and active
is steadily gaining weight and growing
feeds six to eight times per day
is wetting and soiling diapers on a regular basis

Babies might not be eating enough if they:

don't appear satisfied
cry constantly
are irritable, even after feeding
are not making wet diapers

Call your doctor if you're concerned your baby isn't eating enough.

A few weeks after birth, breastfed babies tend to have fewer bowel movements (BMs, or poop) than they did before. At around 2 months of age, your baby may not poop after each feeding, or even every day. During growth spurts, you may notice that your little one wants to feed more often. This frequent nursing sends a signal to make more milk. Within a couple of days, supply and demand will get into balance.

Babies who get breast milk only should get vitamin D supplements within the first few days of life. Other supplements, water, juice, and solid foods aren't usually needed.

Formula Feeding: How Much and How Often?

Babies digest formula more slowly than breast milk, so if you're bottle-feeding, your baby may have fewer feedings than a breastfed infant.

As babies grow, they can eat more at each feeding and may go for longer stretches between feedings. You'll also notice that your baby is starting to sleep longer at night.

During the second month, infants may take about 4 or 5 ounces at each feeding. By the end of 3 months, your baby may need an additional ounce at each feeding.

It's easy to overfeed a baby when using a bottle because it easier to drink from a bottle than from a breast. Make sure that the hole on the bottle's nipple is the right size. The liquid should drip slowly from the hole and not pour out. Also, resist the urge to finish the bottle when your baby shows signs of being full.

Never prop a bottle. Propping a bottle might cause choking and it increases the chances of getting ear infections and tooth decay.

Should I Worry About Spitting Up?

It's normal for infants to "spit up" after eating or during burping. Spitting up a small amount — usually less than 1 ounce (30 ml) — shouldn't be a concern as long as it happens within an hour of feeding and doesn't bother your baby.

You can reduce spitting up in these early months by:

feeding before your baby gets very hungry
keeping your baby in a semi-upright position during the feeding and for an hour after
burping your baby regularly
avoiding overfeeding
not jostling or playing vigorously with your baby right after a feeding

If your baby seems to be spitting up large amounts, is spitting up forcefully, is irritable during or after feedings, or seems to be losing weight or is not gaining weight as expected, call your doctor. And if your child has a fever or shows any signs of dehydration (such as not wetting diapers), call the doctor right away.

Call your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about feeding your infant.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD

Date reviewed: November 2021

How much should my baby eat? A guide to baby food portions

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Wondering how much to feed your baby? This can be hard to figure out, especially when you're starting solids and most of your baby's food ends up on your little one or the floor. It's also difficult to determine how much an 8-month-old (or older baby) should eat – babies this age are more interested in solid foods but still get most of their nutrition from breast milk or formula. This visual guide to baby food portions can help you figure out how much your baby should eat at every stage.

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

How much should my baby eat?

Do you worry that your baby is eating too little or too much? Your baby will self-regulate her food intake based on what their body needs, so let their appetite be your guide.

It's helpful to have a reference point, however. Here are photos of how much solid food a baby typically eats in a day. You can also ask your baby's doctor for feeding advice.

This visual guide shows:

Portions for infants who are new to solids (typically 4 to 6 months)
Two sample meals for a younger baby (6 to 8 months)
Three sample meals and two snacks for an older baby (8 to 12 months) from a menu developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Your little one may eat less or more than what's shown here. Your job is to provide a variety of healthy foods at regular intervals without pressure, and their job is to decide what and how much to eat.

Photo credit: iStock.com / UntitledImages

Watch for signs your baby is full

Lots of factors – including activity level, growth spurts or plateaus, illness, and teething – will affect your baby's appetite, which can vary daily.

End feeding when they signal that they're done. Signs of being full include:

Turning their head away
Refusing to open their mouth for another bite after they've swallowed (resist the urge to encourage your baby to have one last spoonful)
Leaning back in their chair
Playing with the spoon or food rather than eating

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

How much a 4- to 6-month-old should eat

When your baby is developmentally ready for solids, typically around 4 to 6 months, talk to their doctor about introducing solid foods. The first bites are mostly about them getting used to the idea of having something different in their mouth.

Start with a very small amount, 1 to 2 teaspoons, of a single-ingredient puree.

Gradually increase to 1 to 2 tablespoons of food once a day.
Follow your baby's fullness cues.

Popular first foods include pureed mango, banana, chicken, turkey, beef, peas, sweet potatoes, and infant cereal. It's up to you what food to start with, but wait 3 to 5 days between introducing each new food to make sure your baby doesn't have an allergic reaction or food intolerance. (And remember, no cow's milk or honey until age 1.)

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

How much a 6- to 8-month-old should eat

As your little one gets more comfortable with solids, you can increase the frequency of meals and variety of food.

Transition from one to two meals a day, typically by 8 months.
Over time, add a second food to each meal. The photo above is an example of a meal with two foods.
Once you've worked up to two meals with two foods each, aim for a balance of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and grains in their daily diet.
Whenever you introduce a new food, start with a very small amount, a teaspoon or two, to allow your baby to get used to its flavor and texture.
Start with a soupy consistency. Gradually add more texture as their eating skills improve.

Expect their intake of breast milk or formula to go down. They'll start drinking less of it as they eat more solid foods. Provide healthy options at mealtimes, and let them choose how much to eat.

Note: The jars in all photos are standard 4-ounce baby food jars.

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

Breakfast for a younger baby (6 to 8 months)

Cereal and fruit make an easy combination for a morning meal.

Grain: Iron-fortified, whole-grain infant cereal is a popular first grain. At 6 months, a typical daily portion of infant cereal mixed with breast milk or formula might be 2 to 3 tablespoons, increasing to 4 to 8 tablespoons (1/4 to 1/2 cup) by 8 months. (It's best to avoid rice cereal, though.)

Fruit: Babies love the natural sweetness of fruits like pears, apples, berries, prunes, and stone fruits. Between 6 and 8 months, a baby will typically transition from about 2 to 3 tablespoons of fruit puree a day to 4 to 8 tablespoons (1/4 to 1/2 cup) of mashed or minced fruit.

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

Dinner for a younger baby (6 to 8 months)

If you serve a grain and fruit in the morning, consider offering a protein-rich food and vegetable later in the day. Your child may eat more or less than the amounts shown.

Protein: A baby might transition from eating 1 to 2 tablespoons of meat puree at 6 months to 2 to 4 tablespoons at 8 months, for example. Other good protein sources include cheese, unsweetened plain whole-milk yogurt, tofu, beans, and lentils.

Vegetables: Between 6 and 8 months, a baby will typically transition from about 2 to 3 tablespoons of vegetable puree a day to 4 to 8 tablespoons (1/4 to 1/2 cup). Try classic favorites like carrots, spinach, or butternut squash, as well as less traditional first foods such as parsnips, beets, or asparagus.

As your child's eating skills improve, gradually add more texture by dicing or mincing foods.

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

How much an 8- to 12-month-old should eat

By 8 months or so, your baby is likely getting the hang of eating and needs to eat more calories to support their growing body. But since their little belly can't hold a lot of food, they'll need to eat more often. Every baby is different, but this may be a good time to try offering a third solid food meal.

During this period:

Continue to give your baby breast milk or formula.
Add morning and afternoon snacks. (Some babies this age are happy with breast milk or formula as their snack, while others gravitate toward solid foods.) Once you've added a third meal and snacks, your baby will be eating or drinking something about every two to three hours.

Continue to aim for a mix of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and grains.
Introduce coarser and chunkier textures, for example, by dicing or mincing food instead of pureeing it, and graduate to soft finger foods as your baby's eating skills improve.
Avoid foods with added sugars. Check the Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods, and try to steer clear of foods that list 1 gram or more of "Added Sugars."
Provide healthy options, and let your baby choose how much to eat.

To visualize daily portions for an 8- to 12-month-old, check out the following photos of a typical day's menu for a baby this age, developed by the AAP.

Your child may eat more or less than these amounts. If you're concerned about how much your baby is eating, talk to their doctor for advice.

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

Breakfast for an older baby (8 to 12 months)

The AAP sample menu for a baby 8 to 12 months features a breakfast consisting of:

4 to 8 tablespoons (1/4 to 1/2 cup) whole-grain infant cereal mixed with formula or breast milk
4 to 8 tablespoons (1/4 to 1/2 cup) diced fruit

Note: This is an example. Your baby may eat different foods and amounts.

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

Morning snack for an older baby (8 to 12 months)

The AAP sample menu for a baby 8 to 12 months features a morning snack consisting of:

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) diced cheese or cooked vegetables

Note: This is an example of a morning snack, which babies typically add sometime between 8 and 12 months. Your baby may eat different foods and amounts.

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

Lunch for an older baby (8 to 12 months)

The AAP sample menu for a baby 8 to 12 months features a lunch consisting of:

4 to 8 tablespoons (1/4 to 1/2 cup) unsweetened plain whole-milk yogurt or cottage cheese, or minced meat
4 to 8 tablespoons (1/4 to 1/2 cup) diced or mashed yellow or orange vegetable

Note: This is an example. Your baby may eat different foods and amounts.

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

Afternoon snack for an older baby (8 to 12 months)

The AAP sample menu for a baby 8 to 12 months features an afternoon snack consisting of:

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) diced fruit or unsweetened plain whole-milk yogurt
1 whole-grain teething biscuit or cracker

Note: This is an example of an afternoon snack, which babies typically add sometime between 8 and 12 months. Your baby may eat different foods and amounts.

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

Dinner for older baby (8 to 12 months)

The AAP sample menu for a baby 8 to 12 months features a dinner consisting of:

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) minced or ground poultry or meat, or diced tofu
4 to 8 tablespoons (1/4 to 1/2) cup diced, cooked green vegetable
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) noodles, pasta, rice, or potato
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) diced fruit

Note: This is an example. Your baby may eat different foods and amounts.

Photo credit: Karla Martin for BabyCenter

How much should my baby drink once they start eating solids?

Breast milk or formula will fully meet your child's hydration needs until they're about 6 months old. They may start drinking less as solid foods become a bigger part of their diet. Here are typical daily amounts by age – your baby's intake may be different, however.

6 to 8 months: 24 to 32 ounces of formula, or continued breastfeeding on demand

8 to 12 months: 24 ounces of formula, or continued breastfeeding on demand

Water: You can offer your baby water once they start eating solids, but let them self-regulate how much they drink. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends giving babies who are 6 to 12 months old 4 to 6 ounces of water a day, but what your baby decides to drink may vary. They may drink more on a hot day, for example.

Avoid juice: Juice isn't recommended for babies younger than 12 months.

Photo credit: iStock.com / SDI Productions

Your baby has the final say

Keep in mind that these portions are an estimate. The truth is, every baby is different, and there's no set amount of food that's appropriate for every baby at every stage.

If you're worried about whether your baby is eating enough – or too much – the best advice is to look for and respond to signs that your baby is full.

Your baby's doctor will chart their weight gain at regular intervals. If the doctor sees a consistent growth curve and doesn't have other concerns, your baby is most likely eating the right amount of food.

Hungry for more?

Age-by-age guide to feeding your baby

The 10 best foods for babies

The worst foods for babies

Using spices and seasoning in baby food

Elizabeth Dougherty

Elizabeth Dougherty is a veteran parenting writer and editor who's been contributing to BabyCenter since 2015. She's an intrepid traveler, devoted yogi, and longtime resident of Silicon Valley, where she lives with her husband and son.

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Baby food: ✔Gerber ✔Nutrition ✔Baby ✔Nestle

It's amazing, but baby food is a little over 150 years old. No, before that, of course, children were also fed, but not in the same way as today. Modern mothers, if necessary, can replace breast milk with a similar analogue in composition and safely diversify the children's menu. We are talking about mixtures and complementary foods from jars and bags, which, with their appearance, changed the centuries-old diet. And before that, they didn’t feed babies with anything!

In ancient Greece, as a first food, children were given liquid barley stew, to which in Sparta they added bull's blood so that the boys would grow up to be real warriors.

Mammal

I would not want to make it an absolute custom to feed children food so that they do not scream for nothing, but there is something in it. At least the mouth is busy for a while. Well, if mother's milk. But not everyone was lucky. So the she-wolf raised Romulus and Remus, according to this myth. And the ancient Greek gods, starting with the main one, Zeus, grew up on the milk of goats, although they also claimed the breasts of mother goddesses. nine0003

In the Middle Ages, baby bottles were made of leather and wood. At the beginning of the 19th century, they began to produce porcelain teats with leather or suede teats.

In different countries at different times, milk from almost all animals capable of producing it was used, that is, for the benefit of baby food. The babies left without mother's milk were fed by goats and cows, sheep and camels, llamas and donkeys.

It is not documented, but the story that one of the children of Charles Darwin was fed with donkey milk has not yet been forgotten. Apparently, the English naturalist made a natural selection - he chose a donkey as a wet nurse, believing that her milk is closest in composition to human milk. nine0003

Drink, children

AG Venetsianov “A nurse with a child” • source: wikimedia.org / СС BY

Children were deprived of mother's milk not always by nature. Sometimes women themselves refused to feed their offspring. The poor were hindered by work, the rich by whims. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that breastfeeding distracted the mother from the birth of other children, and in modern times - from secular life. A woman of a noble family had to give birth to as many children as possible, and any other woman could feed them. This approach led to the fact that in Europe and Russia, wealthy mothers gave newborns to nurses. In France, this tradition was most widespread. In the second half of the 18th century, the first agencies for hiring wet nurses appeared in Paris. nine0003 Paris, 1845.

The authorities united four such agencies into a municipal nursing office, which protected their rights and guaranteed their wages. The bureau survived the French Revolution and closed in 1876. But then dry milk formula was already invented and distributed throughout Europe.

Milk replacement

Henri Nestlé , founder of the Nestlé company • source: wikimedia.org / CC BY

The loss of a stable income for a breadwinner is due to science. Since the beginning of the 19th century, European scientists have been trying to invent a scientifically based alternative to mother's milk. And the necessary conditions for this gradually developed: they learned how to preserve and disinfect products, and in 1855 the Englishman Grimweid invented powdered milk. But, if not for Henri Nestle, all these discoveries might have existed on their own. nine0003

Henri Nestlé's Milk Flour
source: blick.ch / СС BY

Nestlé's problem of baby food affected Nestlé after the birth of his first child, who was not suitable for mother's milk, and progressive at that time parents did not want to feed cows. A certified pharmacist and pharmacy owner in a Swiss town in 1867 made a mixture of powdered cow's milk, wheat flour and sugar, which he called "Henri Nestlé's Milk Flour". Diluted with water, it became the world's first artificial baby food. nine0003 Poster “It is useful for children”, A. Dobrov (1958) • source: materinstvo.ru / CC BY

Post passed

The duration of breastfeeding in pre-revolutionary Russia was established by the church and amounted to three strictest fasts (only Great and Assumption were taken into account ). These terms were not strictly related to age and depended on the time of birth. If a child was born during Great Lent, they were fed from Dormition to Dormition; if after the Dormition Fast (the Great was considered the first, the Dormition Fast was the second, the Great again was the third), then they were fed until almost two years old and were weaned only before the Dormition Fast. nine0003

Mixture and only

Martinus van der Hagen ,
founder of Nutricia • source: wikimedia.org / SS BY

well-fed. The last option is a consequence of a considerable amount of sugar in the first mixtures. This was taken into account by the Dutchman Martinus van der Hagen, who in 1896 invented his own method of drying milk in a bakery.

Its milk formula contained significantly less flour and sugar than that of its main competitor, and therefore received the approval of the then doctors and, largely thanks to them, became popular. Thus began the history of Nutricia. In the US, they also appreciated the charm of a new way to feed hungry children. The production of baby food was put on stream by Clapp's Baby Food and Beech-Nut. nine0003

source: artinvestment.ru / CC BY

Russia was still a few decades before the opening of its own production of baby dry mixes "Malyutka", on which a good part of Soviet toddlers will then grow. And exactly one hundred years before that, in 1872, “milk flour” began to be sold in St. Petersburg, and then throughout the country, the agent of the Nestlé company, Alexander Wenzel. The merchant advertised a new product in the newspapers of that time: a girl, satisfied with life and the taste of milk flour, joyfully licks her finger next to a source of full pleasure - a can of mixture at a price of 1 ruble 10 kopecks. But not everyone was appreciated and not immediately. And even more so where the press was not able to read. nine0003

The old fashioned way

The final weaning from breast milk in pre-revolutionary Russia took place in the period from one to two or three years and was expressed in the change of the nickname "sidun" to "hodun". Often it happened "for berries", that is, in the summer months, when berries and fruits ripened, which were given to children "to calm down" - as a consolation.

The farther from the capitals, the less was not only dry mixes, but also knowledge about them. Children continued to be fed by other women for money or thanks, they were given diluted animal milk and they began to supplement them very early. Usually liquid boiled porridges. In Europe - oatmeal, in Asia - rice, in Russia - semolina and semolina. In pre-revolutionary Russia, in addition to cereals, a child already six months old usually knew the taste of potatoes, onions, cucumbers, including pickles. nine0003

Some Soviet pediatricians, and after them mothers and grandmothers of that time, believed that it would be good for children to taste salty milk after sweet milk. So often two-three-month-old babies were given to suck on a chicken bone, a crust of black bread, pickles or lard.

It was considered normal to feed him cabbage soup and sauerkraut. Even earlier, they gave "zhevka" - a cloth with wrapped chewed bread, sometimes soaked in sweetened water, kvass or home brew. However, this idea - to occupy a child's mouth with a rag with dubious contents from the point of view of hygiene and pediatrics - was adopted from Europe. It’s just that in our country she stayed longer than in her “homeland”. nine0003

And so, when the rag was already taken out of the mouth, but they were not yet invited to the common table, and the children continued to be indignant, they had to somehow get out. More precisely, twist gauze with chopped vegetables and fruits so that they give all their juices for the benefit of children's health. By the way, they just started to take care of him. Enlightened minds have finally traced the connection between what children eat and how long they live without suffering from disease.

Until the beginning of the 20th century in Russia, a horn hollowed out of a cow's horn was used as a pacifier. The contents were knocked out of it and a groove was made at the end for pulling on the "tit" - the nipple of the cow's udder, which was soaked in milk, vegetable oil, sugar and honey water. nine0003

And from a can is simpler

source: wipo.int / SS BY

By that time (1870), Henri Nestle had released a novelty - condensed milk. It was invented back in 1856 by American Gail Borden, but it was Henri Nestle and his company who made condensed milk a popular children's treat. True, the doctors were unhappy: few followed the recommendation to dilute condensed milk with water in a ratio of 1 to 10 and only then give it to children.

They ate condensed milk with spoons, sometimes with jars. And this, of course, led to rapid weight gain. Doctors insisted: it is better to feed children with vegetables and fruits. But twisting the gauze is already pretty tired. And then there were jars. nine0003

Children and their nutrition were not treated with much trepidation, not only in the dark times of the Middle Ages, but also in the century before last. We already heard something about hygiene and even visited doctors, but, of course, there was no special children's menu. On the contrary, children in even the poorest families of the 19th century were fed what was worse.

Daniel Frank Gerber
founder of the Gerber Company
source: wikimedia.org / SS BY

Michigan manufacturer Daniel Gerber established the first large-scale production of canned food for children. It was again a matter of personal interest—the need for special nutrition for Sally's daughter. Gerber's wife learned how to make vegetable, fruit and meat puree for a sick child, and then convinced her husband to start mass production. nine0003

In 1928, baby food from Gerber Foods went on the market. It is still there.

Dairy kitchens and non-dairy rivers

Children in our country also wanted to eat. Especially those who lacked scarce imported food. In the 1920s, dairy kitchens appeared, where milk mixtures, fermented milk products, cottage cheese were made from fresh products, and juices and mashed potatoes were made from fruits and vegetables.

In the 1950s, mass production of baby food began in the Soviet Union: canned juices and purees, powdered milk mixtures, cereals and kissels. Since then, for several decades, dairy kitchens did not prepare food, but simply gave out jars and bags. nine0003

In the 1950s, complementary foods were started as early as 2-4 months, and if the child is bottle-fed, then even earlier. And this is not only a Soviet trend.

In the first edition of the well-known book on the upbringing of children by the American doctor Spock (1946), there is this passage:

“Many doctors now recommend giving meat from 2-6 months. Meat for a small child is either turned in a meat grinder several times, or rubbed through a sieve, or rubbed on a grater. Therefore, it is easy for a child to eat it, even while he has no teeth.” nine0003

Toddlers of the 1970s owe a lot, if not to everything, to these dairy kitchens, dry mixes "Malyutka", and also to the canned food of the Odessa Cannery and the Moscow Poultry Plant. It was fashionable to eat from jars, boxes and tubes, because the main characters of that time, the astronauts, ate like that.

The glass feeding bottle was patented in 1841 by Charles Windshiel of Massachusetts.

Approximate scheme of complementary feeding "in Soviet style" according to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health 1976 years

1 month - fruit juices
1. 5 months - applesauce (grated apple)
3.5 months — cottage cheese (from dairy cuisine)
4 months - egg yolk
4.5 months - vegetable puree
7 months - meat

As for today's children, the whole world industry and the conviction, supported by the opinion of pediatricians, that they need special nutrition, work for them. And now there is such an abundance on the children's table that even an adult will envy. Formulas for artificial feeding of infants are produced highly and partially adapted, that is, close in composition to breast milk, and also casein, medicinal, with thickeners and lactose-free, where whey is replaced by no less nutritious soy protein. nine0003

The menu of undergrowths of the 21st century includes n-component purees, an unthinkable variety of cereals and a whole line of sour-milk pleasure in bright packages. Only they still find a reason to scream how much in vain. But at least not from hunger.

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US will take military action against infant formula

Baby food problems in US triggered by large manufacturer recall from Michigan plant after four infants were infected and hospitalized / TANNEN MAURY / EPA / TASS

On May 18, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that the situation with access to baby food, including medical food, 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. nine0003

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. nine0003

"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. nine0003

600,000 children around the world

could be left without the care they need in the next six months, UNICEF believes

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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.