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Jars, Pouches, Organic, and More

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Reducing Exposure to Toxic Elements in Baby Foods

Three brands in this article — Gerber, Beech-Nut, and Happy Baby — were mentioned in a February 2021 Congressional Report for products containing significantly high levels of toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury. The FDA has since launched the Closer to Zero: Action Plan for Baby Foods to address exposure to toxic elements from eating baby foods.

Best overall baby food: Beech-Nut Naturals Stage 1
Best organic baby food pouches: Plum Organics Stage 1
Best budget-friendly baby food: Gerber Organic 1st Foods
Best baby food for constipation: Gerber Natural 1st Foods (Pear)
Best organic jarred baby food: Happy Baby Organics Clearly Crafted Stage 1
Best personalized subscription service: Cerebelly
Best fresh baby food: Once Upon a Farm Cold-Pressed Organic Baby Food
Best first baby cereal: Gerber Organic 1st Foods Single Grain Cereal
Best, most interesting baby food blends: Little Spoon Complex Solids
Best all-around clean baby food: Baby Gourmet

Best overall baby food

Beech-Nut Naturals Stage 1

This affordable baby food is an all-around fan favorite. Beech-Nut baby foods come in recyclable glass jars and are available in both natural and organic varieties. Blends are available in every stage, from single-ingredient foods for brand-new eaters (like butternut squash and plum) to multi-food blends with chunkier textures for older babies.

The ingredients in Beech-Nut baby foods are simple, with no artificial additives. Plus, these little glass jars are available at most grocery stores, so they’re easy to find. However, while it’s great for recycling purposes, glass can be dangerous — always supervise your little one around glass.

Beech-Nut Naturals are free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) but not certified organic (unless you shop their organics line). They contain no added sugar.

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Best organic baby food pouches

Plum Organics Stage 1

If sustainability, organic foods, and non-GMO ingredients are important to you, Plum Organics has a great line of baby food options to try.

Their BPA-free pouches are super convenient and available in a variety of fruits, veggies, and grains for each stage of eating. These foods have no added salts or sugars, so they’re nutritious and simple for baby’s maturing digestive system. They’re also widely available and can be purchased in bulk for greater savings.

And while feeding experts definitely discourage using pouches exclusively, there’s no denying that pouches are very convenient for occasional on-the-go feedings. To make sure your baby is still progressing in their journey through solid foods, try squeezing the pouch contents into a spoon. And be sure to watch out for the small plastic caps, as they’re a choking hazard.

Plum Organics is certified organic and non-GMO, and their baby food doesn’t contain added sugar.

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Best budget-friendly baby food

Gerber Organic 1st Foods

Gerber is the classic baby food brand, and they’ve made changes over the last few years to make their food more health-conscious (e. g., starting an organic line). Yet they have maintained their status as one of the most affordable prepared baby food brands on the market.

They offer benefits like glass jars, organic ingredients, and a wide variety of food choices at a lower cost than some other brands on our list.

Gerber Organic is USDA organic, non-GMO, and free of added sugar.

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Best baby food for constipation

Gerber Natural 1st Foods (Pear)

Sometimes babies get a little constipated when they’re beginning their solid food journey, especially if they’re eating a lot of dairy or iron-fortified cereal. In addition to continuing breast milk, some foods may help relieve your little one’s digestive discomfort, including all the “P” fruits.

So prunes, pears, plums, and peaches are some options to help keep tiny bowels on the move. You can find great fruit purees in any brand on our list, but one of the more cost-effective is the Gerber brand. The good news is that many babies love fruit, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get your little one to down some prunes or pears.

This product is made with non-GMO ingredients and pears grown with Clean Field Farming practices. It doesn’t contain added sugars.

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Best organic jarred baby food

Happy Baby Organics Clearly Crafted Stage 1

Another great organic baby food option, the Happy Baby company offers their organic baby food jars at most stores — although not quite as widely as Beech-Nut and Plum Organics.

Happy Baby jars offer a wide variety of foods, from kale and mango to spinach and peaches and chia seeds. You can start with their single-ingredient jars (this is important for ruling out allergies, as well as to help baby learn to like spinach even when it’s not disguised by pears). Then, you can move on to their fruit and veggie blends as your little one grows.

High quality ingredients, creative flavors, and no artificial ingredients all make Happy Baby a solid (no pun intended) choice.

Happy Baby is USDA organic and doesn’t contain added sugars.

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Best personalized subscription service

Cerebelly

Cerebelly allows you to personalize your subscription of baby food pouches based on your child’s age, leaning on science to determine what foods will benefit them at their stage of development.

You’ll take a quiz that asks about the current development and language cues your baby is showing (responding to their name, grasping toys, using noises to show emotion, etc.). It also asks about motor, social, and visual skills.

The results will clue you in on key nutrients that may benefit your little one and customize your baby food pouches based on this.

To boot, the brand has earned the Clean Label Project Purity Award (which evaluates products for toxins and contaminants), is certified USDA organic, and contains no added sugars.

Shop now at Cerebelly

Best fresh baby food

Once Upon a Farm Cold-Pressed Organic Baby Food

These organic, cold-pressed baby food pouches and cups are found in the refrigerated section at your grocery store (and yes, they have to be refrigerated at home). The company also has a subscription delivery option to make baby food even more convenient for your busy schedule.

Creative names like Wild Rumpus Avocado and Magic Velvet Mango will have you smiling, and the variety of flavors will (hopefully!) appeal to your little one. Once Upon a Farm offers a variety of food stages, so you can start with their purees and move on up to their finger and toddler foods as your baby grows.

Once Upon a Farm is certified organic and non-GMO. Their products contain no added sugars and are Clean Label Project certified.

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Best first baby cereal

Gerber Organic 1st Foods Single Grain Cereal

This simple cereal is a great first food for baby. You can mix this one-ingredient whole grain cereal with breast milk, formula, or water to provide your little one with some crucial nutrients (such as iron) and experience with spoons and textures.

The AAP recommends oatmeal or multigrain cereals over rice cereals, as they have a lower risk of exposure to chemicals such as arsenic (which is sometimes a concern with rice products).

As your baby gets used to other foods, you can also mix this cereal with fruit or yogurt to provide a heartier meal.

Gerber Organic is certified USDA organic and non-GMO, but this product does contain some added sugars.

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Best, most interesting baby food blends

Little Spoon Complex Solids

Once your baby is ready for more advanced blends, Little Spoon has a unique line of complex blends that contain multiple purees as well as other seeds and grains for texture.

For example, one blend contains quinoa, butternut squash, and apple. Another contains kale, white bean, pear, basil, quinoa, and avocado oil.

Little Spoon purees use certified organic and non-GMO ingredients. They’re free of added sugar.

Shop now at Little Spoon

Best all-around clean baby food

Baby Gourmet

Baby Gourmet is another Clean Label Project Purity Award winner, which means they go above and beyond to ensure their baby food is free of harmful toxins that naturally occur in the environment.

This Canadian company is also set to donate 1 million meals to vulnerable populations by 2025. It’s founded and run by moms, which can be reassuring.

Baby Gourmet is certified organic and non-GMO by both U.S. and Canadian standards. All packaging is BPA-free. Products contain no added sugar.

Shop now at Baby Gourmet

As a general guideline, it’s a good idea to start with iron-fortified baby cereals or pureed meats if your infant is breastfed. Breastfed babies are more likely to need extra iron than formula-fed babies.

It’s also advisable to start with simple, single-ingredient purees of meat, vegetables, and fruits.

Choosing brands that are certified organic, use BPA-free materials, and are conscious of using whole food ingredients (e.g., they don’t add “extras” like salt, sugar, or corn syrup) helps ensure a healthy start for your little one.

According to the AAP, you shouldn’t give babies under age 1 cow’s milk, honey, unpasteurized dairy, or undercooked meat, as these can be an infection risk for a baby’s developing immune system.

You’ll also want to avoid foods that are hard or sharp or present a choking risk (for instance, chips, nuts, popcorn, raisins, raw apples, raw carrots, whole grapes, hot dogs). For a more comprehensive guide to which foods to give and what to avoid, check out our article on infant nutrition and starting solids.

While experts used to advise waiting to introduce highly allergenic foods (such as dairy, wheat, nuts, and eggs) until after the first year, the experts now say that delayed introduction of these foods may increase a child’s risk of food allergies. So, with the guidance of your pediatrician, go ahead and introduce those foods within the first year.

Seek immediate emergency medical attention if you notice swelling of the tongue and mouth, wheezing, or trouble breathing after your child eats certain foods

Some babies are raring to go when it comes to trying food, while others may take a little more convincing. Either way, definitely get your camera on video mode, as there are bound to be some hilarious faces and some impressive food spillage along the way.

Here are some pro tips to help make the process as smooth as possible:

Wait until your baby shows signs of readiness for solid food.
Keep trying. It can take 5 to 10 exposures for a baby to accept a new food.
Make it fun and silly.
Cook and eat as a family as much as possible.
Let your baby play with the spoon and even the food! While incredibly messy, this helps them get comfortable with the textures, smells, and tastes of new foods.
Talk with your pediatrician if you have any questions or concerns. They’re a great resource and want to help you grow a happy, healthy baby.

What’s the best baby food for growth and weight gain?

If your baby is under 6 months and breastfeeding, it’s recommended that you stick to that exclusively for 6 months. When you’re ready to introduce solids after 6 months, it should be in addition to breastfeeding and formula, not as a replacement.

If your baby is formula-fed, they may begin eating solids sooner than 6 months. While no one specific food is recommended, a variety of foods and colors is best, including meats, vegetables, and fruits. One of the key foods that can help with growth and weight gain is avocados (high in healthy fats and fiber but low in sugar).

Always discuss your baby’s dietary changes with your pediatrician and attend regular checkups to monitor growth.

What’s the easiest food for babies to digest?

Just like adults, babies do best with regular bowel movements. If they’re having a hard time with this, oatmeal is one food known to be easy to digest and promote regularity, as it contains higher amounts of dietary fiber.

It may also help to focus on quantity. Try feeding your baby smaller meals more often, rather than fewer larger meals. This may be easier on their system and allow them to digest foods more easily.

What’s the best baby food to start with?

Mashed banana and avocado are some of the most popular solids to start with. Soft, ground oatmeal is also great. When it comes to fruit and vegetable purees, focus on variety, but don’t overdo it with those that are naturally high in sugar (such as berry purees).

Most importantly, at 6 months old, all foods should still be pureed and cooked. Once your baby is 9 months old and older, you can start to introduce vegetables cut into pieces. The only other no-no is honey, which they shouldn’t have until they’re over a year old.

It can feel like a lot of pressure to choose the best nutrition for your child, especially when trying to capitalize on the years before they start demanding chicken nuggets and ice cream. But there are a lot of great, healthy options available in 2022.

Whether you choose to make your own baby food, buy jars or pouches, or use a baby food subscription service, there are a number of resources to help you feed your baby.

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Hungry children of the superpower: the US is facing a baby food crisis

The country lacks food for the little ones - the supply of infant formula has almost halved. Parents are encouraged to temporarily use cow's milk to feed their babies, but if possible, not to do so for a long time. Mothers dilute mixtures, feed their children less, spend several hours a day looking for food for their babies. Urgent flights of military aircraft deliver shipments of baby food from abroad by order of the President. nine0003

Empty shelves for baby food in a New Jersey store, USA

All of this is not a reality in any third world country, but the daily life of the last weeks of many families in the United States. The causes of the crisis are exclusively internal - monopoly in the economy, plus excessive, but, as it turned out, ineffective state regulation, as well as protectionism.

A real American taste

In February, when the US administration began mobilizing support for Ukraine from the West, as well as increasing sanctions pressure on Russia, the news about the shutdown of the plant for the production of Abbott infant formula in the town of Sturgis, Michigan, passed almost unnoticed. Only about 10 thousand people live in Sturgis, located between Chicago and Detroit, and hardly anyone would remember this town if it were not for the plant. Abbott controls about 42% of the US infant formula market, and half of its products are made at this facility - the largest in the country in this area. nine0003

The story began with the fact that four children were poisoned by mixtures from the plant, two of them fatally, and the enterprise temporarily stopped working. So the market lost about 20% of the supply.

An invisible crisis

The baby food crisis lingered for three months before hitting the front pages of the newspapers and becoming a topic of discussion in Congress (while, for example, Ukraine's legislature had already approved several billion military aid). Parents bought up all the available stocks and in a matter of hours they are sorting out new batches. Stores were forced to impose restrictions on the volume of sales of mixtures in one hand, but the shelves are still empty.

If there was a 2-8% monthly mix shortage at the Sturgis plant closure due to supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, then in April this figure rose to 30%, by May 8 - up to 43%, by May 15 - 45%.

Who is to blame and what to do

Only last week, the federal authorities noticed the growing crisis. The White House ordered to organize an urgent delivery of infant formula from abroad, involving military aviation in this. Thousands of tons of baby food have already arrived in the United States over the weekend from the Ramstein base in Germany. Families in need who cannot afford subsidized formula were promised new benefits. The FDA has received an additional $28 million to improve the way it inspects and approves US and foreign products. The FDA has already agreed to reopen the Sturgis plant from this Monday, although it could be weeks before new formulas hit the shelves. US President Joe Biden activated the Defense Production Act of 1950, which allows the federal government to directly intervene in the production and distribution of products. Such measures have already been practiced in the event of shortages in the past.

The search for the guilty began. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the leader of the Democrats in Congress, Nancy Pelosi, threatened Abbott with criminal prosecution - after all, it was precisely because of their problems in production that the plant stopped. However, these are only assumptions - at a congressional hearing, an FDA representative said that the investigation into the incident with the poisoning of babies has not yet been completed. He also did not answer about the reasons for the three-month-long inspection of the plant, again referring to the secrecy of the investigation. nine0003

Shortage of infant formula in the United States: why a state of emergency is introduced in cities and whether it threatens Russia

There is an acute shortage of infant formula in the United States. According to the Datasembly agency, in early May, the deficit in warehouses across the country was 43%. The crisis is so serious that dry food is delivered to certain regions on military aircraft from Europe. What happened and does the same thing happen to Russia? nine0003

What's happening to baby food in the US

In late 2021, four parents approached the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a complaint that their children had contracted a rare and dangerous bacterial infection after taking infant formula. infection with Cronobacter sakazakii, which resulted in death in two cases. Another application was filed by the parents of an infant who was hospitalized with Salmonella Newport. nine0003

On January 31, 2022, FDA inspectors came to inspect Abbott Nutrition, the largest manufacturer of infant formula in the United States, and found serious food safety violations, and found five different strains of Cronobacter there (although not Cronobacter was among them sakazakii). In mid-February, at the end of the review, Abbott Nutrition recalled batches of products from stores and suspended the production line until the problem was fixed. So the country was left without the largest plant for the production of infant formula for several months - a supplier of about 20% of all mixtures in the country. nine0003 Empty shelves in the infant formula department. USA. State of Georgia. Photo: Erik S. Lesser / EPA / TASS

According to Datasembly, the states of Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas were the first to experience shortages, but now in 25 states infant formula is out of stock in 40-50% of stores, and in five states - in more than half of the outlets. In this regard, on May 18, US President Joe Biden applied the Defense Production Act and allowed the use of Department of Defense aircraft to deliver products from abroad. He also required suppliers to send ingredients to infant formula manufacturers before any other companies. And on May 22, the mayor of New York declared a state of emergency in the city due to the lack of milk formula for children - it prohibits retailers from raising prices for scarce goods. nine0003

The British Daily Mail reports that the remaining two monopolists, Walgreens and CVS, have imposed a ban on the sale of more than three units of baby food in one hand, and the popular online store Target.com - more than four. The FDA cites data that baby food manufacturers Gerber (USA) and Reckitt (UK) have increased the production of infant formula since the beginning of the year - by 50% and 30%, respectively.

How to solve this problem

However, the problem is that the manufacturers that remain on the market do not make enough formulas for children with metabolic diseases, allergies and other conditions that require a special diet. Parents are sounding the alarm: Minnesota Public Radio news portal reports that there are already cases of hospitalization of children in Tennessee, Georgia, Wisconsin and other states due to nutritional problems. nine0003

On May 23, USA Today reported that a military cargo plane arrived in Indianapolis carrying the first batch of Nestle hypoallergenic infant formula from Germany. In total, there were 35 tons of baby food on board. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, in an interview with NBC News, said that this amount would be enough for 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers within one week.

Military aircraft loaded with infant formula. USA. Indianapolis. Photo: Michael Conroy / AP / TASS

According to The Washington Post, Abbott CEO Robert Ford apologized for the deficit and promised to set up a $5 million fund to help affected families cover medical and living expenses until until the supply crisis is resolved. nine0003

When Abbot Laboratories returns to the market

Robert Ford told The Washington Post that Abbott Nutrition has retooled its adult food lines at its Ohio plant to produce pre-packaged liquid infant formula and shipped millions of cans of its most sought-after dry formula from its Irish facility . In March, the company reported that it did not detect Cronobacter sakazakii in any sample of the mixture at the Michigan plant (signs of bacteria were detected in the non-contact area with the product) and regularly conducts tests, hoping to eliminate all violations by the summer. nine0003

On May 16, the Court for the Western District of Michigan granted a reopening of proceedings after all violations were resolved. According to the head of the company, if the plant passes the test, new mixtures will appear on store shelves in 6-8 weeks.

Abbott will face $30,000 in damages for each day of violation if it fails to comply.

And what about in Russia

After the closure of the plant in the USA, the company's branch in Israel, Abbott Israel, announced the withdrawal of mixtures of Similac Alimentum and Similac HMF (Human Milk Fortifier), produced at the same Michigan plant. There are also representative offices of Abbott in Russia. In particular, the Russian Veropharm factories in the Vladimir region, Belgorod and Voronezh produce Dufalac, Duspatalin, Duphaston drugs - but these are medicines, not baby food. nine0003

The main brands of Abbott baby food in Russia are Similak, Similak Premium for healthy babies, Similak Hypoallergenic for children with a high risk of allergies, Similak Low Lactose for children with lactose intolerance, Similak Antireflux, formulas for premature babies "Similak Special Care" and "Similak NeoSure", as well as a comprehensive and balanced diet "PediaSure", intended for children aged 1 to 10 years. They, according to the information on the packages, are produced in Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland. nine0003

According to Rosstat, from April 30 to May 6, prices for powdered milk formulas for baby food in Russia increased by 1.1%. Thus, since the beginning of the year, the price of mixtures has already increased by 7.02%. This was caused by fluctuations in the ruble exchange rate and problems with logistics. Against this background, Abbott Labs, Danone (Tyoma, Malyutka, Rastishka, Nutrilon) and Nestle (sells NAN, Gerber, Nestle, Nestogen) announced the termination of investments in the Russian Federation and the reduction of the range.