Why is baby food so gross

Adults Eating Baby Food - Baby Food Taste Tests - Puree, Formula, Pedialyte

Eat
Taste-test

By Andy Kryza

Published on 11/20/2014 at 10:00 PM

Andy Kryza

‌

I firmly believe that in order to be a proper caregiver, it's important to fully understand what your dependents are eating. When I got a puppy, I felt it was my duty to taste the snacks my best friend most enjoyed. Now, with my lovely wife expecting our firstborn, it became my mission to get a fatherly grasp on what would provide my progeny with nutrition.

Bravely, I made haste to the grocery store and grabbed a random sampling of common baby and toddler foods. Which is a more eloquent way of saying I got some standard purees and formulas, then looked for unappealing combinations of ground-up meats, veggies, and other mystery ingredients. I started with infant formula, then progressed through the smorgasbord based on the intended age of consumption. Here they are, rated on a scale of 1-10, 1 indicating that it tastes like something found in a diaper, 10 being something I'd totally eat again. There weren't any 10s.

Andy Kryza

Infant Formula

You know what this tastes like? A gross version of the almond milk my wife always tries to convince me is the same as real milk, which it's not. Do you ever dunk cookies in almond milk? It's like dunking them in water. Also, why does my mouth taste drier than it did before I put this liquid in my mouth? Is this why babies are always drinking?
Rating: 6

Andy Kryza

Plums

Fun fact: my sister told me she used to eat pureed plum baby food in high school (my brother says she still does). She says they're delicious. But she also really likes Dave Matthews, so it's dubious. These are perfection... if you enjoy the taste of pre-chewed raisins.
Rating: 5

Thrillist TV

Andy Kryza

Other Fruits and Vegetables

Unsurprisingly, the other fruits and veggies taste like what they are. The carrots taste like carrots. The apples taste like applesauce. The snozberries taste like snozberries. You're not reading this to watch a grown man eat apple sauce. Moving on.
Rating: 7

Andy Kryza

Pureed Chicken

I'm pretty weirded out that the Chicken & Vegetable flavor looks like mustard, but hey, I like mustard. But this doesn't taste like mustard. It tastes like watered-down day-old gravy, and it's pretty damn gross.

I'm even more weirded out that the Chicken & Rice is a completely different color. It's brown. But even more alarming? It's all grainy. And it's sweet. It tastes like somebody took a can of Campbell's low-sodium chicken soup and, when it came time to put in the can of water, dumped in some apple juice instead. Hello, dry heaves! I was wondering when you were coming to the party.
Rating: 2

Andy Kryza

Mac & Cheese with Vegetables

First, unless the vegetable is bacon, vegetables don't belong in mac & cheese. Second, I'm pretty sure this is just Tostitos cheddar dip that somebody forgot to put the cheese flavoring in. Well, probably not, because it's for babies. Still, if this was the first taste of mac & cheese that my child got, I'm pretty sure I'd never forgive myself for being a failure as a father.
Rating: 1

Andy Kryza

Ham with Ham Gravy

When I popped this jar open, I got a heavy whiff that reminded me of Spam. Which is awesome, because I actually like Spam. So I put a huge scoop of this in my mouth and... MOTHER OF GOD! It's like somebody used hot ham water to make some sort of papier-mâché paste, then put it in a jar. And it's sticking to the roof of my mouth. Ye gods! The terrible taste of this ham goop and the glorious scent of Spam are jockeying for my sensory attention. I think I'm going to pass out. Time for a palate cleanser.
Rating: -37

Andy Kryza

Pedialyte

That's more like it. Pedialyte tastes like a cross between Gatorade and Dimetapp, which leads me to believe that all electrolytes taste the same. It's thick and slightly sweet and it's making me feel a lot better about my life choices. Also, I hear it's great for hangovers. This is the stuff!
Rating: 8

Andy Kryza

Apple Raisin Quinoa Squeeze Pack

It's like Go-Gurt, except grainier from the quinoa. At least I think it's the quinoa. I'm still not entirely sure what quinoa really is, to be honest. I think all this food is making me dumber. Maybe this tastes like a non-dairy yogurt substitute. I'm not sure about that either. It's been a while since I've had any yogurt that didn't have a pound of gummy worms and peanut butter cups inside.
Rating: 6

Andy Kryza

Rice Rusks

Now we're getting to the good stuff: teething foods! Holler at a rice rusk! These ones are called Baby Mum-Mum, because babies like stupid noises, I think. And they're banana-flavored. They taste like rice cakes, which makes me feel like I'm being healthy. I could gum the sh*t out of these things for days. But... maybe not these ones, because I just noticed the brand is Hot Kid, and the logo is a little cartoon kid with no shirt on. This disturbs me to the point that I can't stomach any more Mum-Mum. Well, maybe one more...
Rating: 7

Andy Kryza

Lil' Crunchies

First of all, I've been listening to Lil' Crunchies since way before he signed to Roc Nation. Also, these are basically Cheetos! For babies! And they're baby-sized! Hell yes. They're pretty light on the flavor front, because nobody wants to jack baby's sodium level up too high. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't eat the whole goddamned package, and then chase them with more Pedialyte. Because nothing goes with Cheetos quite like an infusion of electrolytes.
Rating: 9

Andy Kryza

Pasta Stars with Chicken & Vegetables

Now we're in toddler territory, and everybody knows that toddlers like... um, dog food? Because that's what this smells like. But look at all those chunks of chicken and veggies! And who doesn't like gravy and stars? Actually... surprisingly, this tastes better than it smells. Add some salt and pepper, and baby you've got a stew going. Dinty Moore stew, more specifically, and that's a good thing! (Did I just have an epiphany about my love of Hormel?!)
Rating: 5

Andy Kryza

Chicken Sticks

It's like somebody took a bunch of ground chicken, dried it out, rolled it in sand, and put it in a casing. Even weirder, they come in a little jar full of preserving liquid that looks like one of those jars you see in sci-fi flicks with heads floating in them. Unlike the Pasta Stars, these actually smell AND look like dog food. I wonder if the dog would eat it...
Rating: 3

Andy Kryza

... yup. He's into it. He ate four, and then laid down for an hour. To be fair, he also likes the cat box. I'm not sure whether babies enjoy cat boxes, but I'm starting to see a pattern here.
Bonus dog rating: 10, putting it on par with litter and whatever is in the garbage when I leave the house, which today includes these baby hot dogs. Nicely done, Kuma.

Andy Kryza

Conclusions

It pains me to say it, but... babies are stupid. They can't talk. They can't drive. And they have terrible taste. They'll eat anything we give them. No wonder they require so many diapers. But for reals, I'm going to go get more of those Cheetos.

Andy Kryza is a senior editor on Thrillist's National Food and Drink team. He plans to feed his baby nothing but Beef 'n Cheddars tossed in a Vitamix. Follow him to surprise visits from Child Services via @apkryza.

Adults taste baby food and it's disgusting

05 Jun 2014

"It looks like baby poops", "baby food isn't even as good as dog food" and "it tastes like bones" are just a few of the thoughts these adults had while tasting baby food.

Useful tips for feeding your baby the healthy way

Baby-led weaning

Feeding your baby day by day

Baby poop colours (and how they relate to food)

The wonderful world of solids

Have a giggle

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Have you ever tasted the foods you feed your baby?

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Harm of baby food in jars

Jars with ready-made puree surprise not only with high demand, but also with an assortment. Fruit, berry, vegetable, with meat, cereals, cream - under each brand there are dozens of items. In a previous publication, we talked in detail about 5 reasons for the popularity of baby puree in jars, and today we will consider the likely harm that such food can cause to a child's body.

Nutritionists, pediatricians and parents disagree on this issue. There are three strong arguments against portioned canned food.

Taste different from homemade food.

The difficulty of weaning a child from a homogeneous consistency.

Unpredictable quality.

How does baby food taste in jars?

Even if a characteristic pop is heard when opening the container, parents still have to taste the food they offer their child. Many are surprised at how strange the content is. It is clear that most purees do not contain salt, sugar, flavoring additives. But they often turn out to be not just bland, but unnatural, too different from those that mothers cook on their own.

The reason for this is the merciless grinding and intense heat treatment that precedes vacuum packaging. However, it is very difficult to transfer a child from such refined food to a common family table. What will be the taste specificity of food in the first months of complementary foods will determine future preferences and the ability to organize healthy baby food at school age.

The child is too lazy to chew

Baby purees under different brands also differ in consistency. For example, it is convenient to scoop up meat and fish with a spoon, but some even at room temperature remain monolithic, as if fastened with starch. It is not easy to mix such a substance with potatoes or green vegetables. You just have to cut it into pieces with a spoon. But in any case, the food in jars is crushed as much as possible and is a homogeneous mass.

It is good when feeding a baby up to a year old. But later, when enough teeth have erupted, the food should become coarser. Reasonable exercise is very important for the health of the gums and teeth. Ready-made vegetable puree in jars is easier for everyone: parents save time on cooking, and children save energy on chewing. As a result, it turns out that upon reaching the age of two, some kids refuse salads, normal soups, vegetable stews. They still demand to puree dishes, recognizing only the usual consistency.

Adults have many problems. There is not enough time and energy for endless persuasion, you won’t leave your beloved child hungry either, no tricks (decorating dishes, disguise) help. Whims at the table are dangerous. Even if the baby gives in under parental pressure, he has a great chance of choking, swallowing tears along with food.

Another difficulty is that a "homogeneous" diet will be limited. If you pass buckwheat with meat or baked potatoes with chicken through a blender, at the output we get a very viscous, thick mass - completely unappetizing. The habit of normal food sometimes comes only with admission to kindergarten.

You can switch from canned puree to homemade puree from 8-9 months. At first, mix, say, a “canned” zucchini with boiled, grated on a fine grater. Then increase your portion by decreasing the canned portion. This will take about a week. Then, according to the same principle, we grind part of the product on a medium-sized grater, closer to a year - on a large one, or simply knead it with a fork.

Do canned children pass high quality control?

They say that buckwheat is the only crop that has not yet been disfigured by genetic modification. Vegetables abound in various additives for rapid growth and disease resistance, and livestock that will become meat are laced with antibiotics and hormones.

It can be assumed that huge fields or modern farms have been set aside especially for our babies, where they grow ingredients for safe baby food. Those who have their own vegetable gardens know how high the price of a natural product really is, because time and effort are taken into account. And if you add the costs of marketing, packaging, transportation, salaries ... Belief in "eco", "organic", and "100% natural" is rapidly weakening.

And international canning scandals confirm that in a market economy, profit remains a priority. It is worth reading the labels carefully, control the cotton when unscrewing the lid, always mix the contents to make sure there are no foreign objects.

Baby food is harmful! On the dangers of certain types of baby food

At the bottom of the article are horrific examples. And there were important clarifications in the comments. 12/05/2018.

1. Truths and lies about infant formula

Manufacturers advertise formula and complementary foods that their products have passed the highest quality standards. But is it always like this?

We are assured that such and such mixtures practically do not differ from breast milk, and some even go so far as to start talking about the impact of bad ecology on breast milk. They say that the cows from whose milk mixtures are made breathe environmentally friendly air, unlike the inhabitants of the metropolis, so isn’t it better to pay money for the mixture than to feed yourself ...

But how much truth is there in all these arguments of financially interested manufacturers that commercially produced food for children undergoes such quality control that it turns out to be purer . .. mother's milk?!

The theme of World Breastfeeding Week 1997 was "Breastfeeding the natural way". Here is the information (translated into Russian) circulated there about this difference between breast milk and formula:

“Baby food is a commercially produced food that undergoes multiple processing in the process of modifying and supplementing cow's milk and turning it into an enriched powder. Not surprisingly, the danger of infection with harmful bacteria, radioactive and chemical substances, foreign bodies and insects has been proven. In addition, water, when mixed with powder, creates an additional risk of infection compared to breastfeeding.”

Breast milk is a living substance. Each woman's milk is individually produced for her own baby. What's more, her milk is constantly changing - both during one feeding and from day to day - to meet the needs of the child in development. When the mother is exposed to pathogens, she produces antibodies to fight them. Maternal antibodies come to the baby with her breast milk.

2. Horrifying examples:

1997 - United Kingdom: Milumil withdrawn from sale due to salmonella contamination.

1997 - USA: Nestlé formula was recalled by the Federal Drug and Food Administration due to adulteration and production under unsanitary conditions. Its use caused gastrointestinal disorders.

See even more valuable stuff in my Telegram! (completely new channel).

1996 - USA: Heinz baby apple and prune juice was recalled because it contained lead in excess of the legal limit.

1994 - SRI LANKA: Customs returned a large shipment of Nestle dry mix imported from Poland due to radioactive contamination!

1993 - USA: Nutramigen formula recalled after it was found to contain broken glass.

1993 - USA: Soyalac formula recalled due to salmonella contamination.

1992 - India: Live black insects and worms have been found in packages of the Lactogen mixture.

Industrial pollution means that toxic substances, including dioxins and biphenyls, are found in our food, in our bodies and in our environment. Due to their wide distribution, they are also found, along with other contaminants, in some samples of cow's milk and breast milk.

However, the benefits of breast milk far outweigh any possible risks, and recommends breastfeeding as the preferred alternative to any alternative.”

See even more valuable stuff in my Telegram! (completely new channel).

One might assume that 10 years have passed since 1997, and perhaps the general trends in the production of mixtures have changed. After all, do we really lie when they write about the safety of all these products for the health of our children? We open any children's magazine, and there we will certainly see soothing words about “the strictest control of suppliers and the quality of raw materials”, about “multi-level quality control of finished products” ...

Alas, during these ten years the manufacturers have made some progress, if only in the art of keeping silent about problems. Here are just some of the reasons for formula and baby food recalls around the world since 1997:

- Also in 1997, 2,141,880 Gerber jars of carrot complementary foods were recalled due to high levels of arsenic.

- In 1998, 25,760 Heinz cans of complementary foods were recalled due to high levels of lead.

- at 1999g. 126,456 cans of Heinz Broccoli, Carrot & Cheese baby food recalled due to solid plastic pieces in complementary foods.

- In 2000, after a long disregard for local health authorities, HiPP recalled its HA1 blend. The catastrophic excess of heavy metals in the mixture already sold led to the fact that the company received claims from several dozen parents whose children became disabled with kidney pathology.

- Various Mead Johnson formulas were recalled several times in 2001 due to packaging errors that labeled dairy-free products containing milk proteins. Considering that products with this label are bought specifically for children with allergies to milk proteins, one can only guess how many babies have suffered because of these errors.

- The year 2002 was rich in tragic cases due to the mistakes of the mixture manufacturers. Initially, 17,358 cans of Mead Johnson's Portagen formula were recalled because the mixture was contaminated with Enterbacter sakazakii, a bacterium that causes sepsis, meningitis and necrotizing enterocolitis in immunocompromised children. The reason for this particular recall was the death of a child due to an illness caused by the use of an infected mixture. Then, due to contamination with the same bacterium, several batches of a number of formulas under various names - a total of 1.5 million cans - were recalled by Wyeth Nutritionals.

- In 2003, Mead Johnson's EnfaCare Lipil formula is again recalled due to infection with the same bacteria!

- in 2003, a scandal broke out with the Remedia Super Soya 1 mixture, which was produced in Israel by the Humana company - an insufficient content of vitamin B1 caused the hospitalization of more than 20 children, and three babies died.

- In 2005 Ross Products' Similac iron mix - 82,986 cans - recalled due to active PVC content.

- In 2006, ready-to-use bottled formulas Similac (200,000 bottles) and Alimentum (100,000 bottles) from the same manufacturer were recalled. The reason was a deficiency of vitamin C, which could manifest itself in infants who consumed this mixture for more than 2-4 weeks.