By Fredrica Syren:
Lots of parents depend upon store bought baby food to feed their little ones. Unfortunately, the baby food business has a history of major errors, which can make any parent worry. Just a few weeks ago, Beech-Nut had to recall 1,920 pounds of baby food after a glass shard was found in a jar. You think that’s it? Well, almost at the same time, Canada Heinz recalled some of their baby food due to a faulty seal that could have caused the food to spoil. It’s also been all over the news that arsenic was found in both baby cereal and applesauce.
Consumers might not hear too much about these occurrences, but these kinds of stories are not just one rare incident. Last year, Heinz’s baby food in China was found to contain lead. A few years before that, Nestle in France found glass in its jar of baby food and was forced to recall 30,000 jars of baby food. In 2011, 5 million cans of Similac baby formula from the manufacturing facility in Michigan were recalled because they might have contained beetle parts or larvae. Yuck!!!!!
Of course there is probably no business that’s under more scrutiny than baby food manufacturing; however, as with anything mass produced, things happen, so there is a risk of unplanned ingredients slipping in during the industrial process.
As consumers, we all assume that commercial baby food is safe. The truth is that we actually have little control over knowing how nutritious the baby food is and whether it’s safe for our baby. I, too, as a new mom relied on store bought baby food for my first baby, but since then I have educated myself. I have realized that it’s not at all what I assumed it to be. So, since then, I have learned how easy it is to make baby food.
Here are my two articles about making your own baby food:
https://zerowastefamily.com/feeding-your-child-nothing-but-the-best-make-your-own-baby-food/
https://zerowastefamily.com/making-your-own-baby-food-puree/