Frequently Asked Questions

The main benefits of commercial baby foods are as follows

Commercial baby foods are very safe. They are manufactured to very high standards and raw materials must meet very strict specifications. All ingredients undergo carefully controlled manufacturing processes and extensive quality control. 

Baby foods are manufactured by a number of processes but, whichever process is used, thorough heat treatment combined with strict hygiene standards ensure the microbiological safety of the product. Production and packaging processes are carefully chosen for maximum protection. 

All stages of production are monitored and suppliers premises are inspected and raw materials tested. The packaging of baby foods is very important to protect the product from contamination and to keep it in the best possible condition throughout its shelf-life.

Parents should always follow manufacturers' instructions on how to store and serve commercial baby foods, but generally in the interests of good food hygiene, all baby foods once prepared should be consumed immediately. 

For baby foods in cans or jars, it is important that parents should remove a portion of the food from the jar into a clean bowl before serving (unless it is sure that the baby will finish the contents of the jar at one sitting). Any food remaining in the jar should then be covered, refrigerated and consumed within 48 hours. Unfinished portions of reconstituted dried baby foods should be thrown away.

Every baby is an individual and grows and develops at its own rate. The UKs Department of Health recommend six month exclusive breastfeeding before solid foods are intoduced.  Recent reviews of scientific evidence by EFSA and ESPGHAN suggest that a baby is ready to be weaned around 4 to 6 months.   See our News and Views section within the Complementary Foods category for further information.

The World Health Organisation has recommended exclusive breastfeeding until around 6 months of age, and then introduction of solid foods, a recommendation that has been supported by the UKs Department of Health.  However, the recent reviews mentioned above have suggested that recommending babies are weaned according to individual needs may be more appropriate (not before 17 weeks of age and weaning should have commenced by 6 months of age).

We recommend that any queries on weaning a baby should be directed to a health professional.

Unlike adults, a high fibre diet is not suitable for babies as it can interfere with the absorption of essential minerals such as calcium and zinc. Also because of their small stomach capacity it would be difficult for infants to consume a sufficient quantity of bulky, fibre rich foods to meet their energy requirements. 

Commercial baby foods contain controlled amounts of fibre appropriate to the needs of the baby.

No. 

High sodium intakes in babies should be avoided since the infant's immature kidneys cannot cope with the excess, but some sodium is essential for the proper functioning of the body's cells. Sodium occurs naturally in a number of foods and infants will receive all the sodium they require without the need for added salt.

Contrary to popular opinion, very little sugar is used in commercial baby foods. In fact there are legal controls on the total amount of carbohydrate (including sugars) that they may contain. However, it is important to recognise that babies do need moderate amounts of sugars in their diet as a readily digestible energy source. (Breast milk itself contains sugar in the form of lactose.) 

Sugars are naturally present in fruit and vegetables as well as in the purées and juices made from them, so they are a natural part of a baby's diet and are present whether the food is home-made or commercially prepared. 

The main reason for limiting sugar consumption is not for nutritional reasons but because of dental health concerns.

Government surveys repeatedly show that all baby foods (whether organic or not) contain either very low or non-detectable levels of pesticides. 

Commercial baby foods are subject to very strict controls on the use of pesticides. Legislation bans the use of some pesticides and requires the level of any other to be below 10 parts per billion (0.01mg/kg).

Since a young baby's system is less able to deal with additives than older children and adults a precautionary approach is taken on the use of additives in baby foods. Safety and technological need are the determining factors so even if an additive is safe, if it is not necessary for technological reasons then it is not used. 

By law artificial additives including preservatives, colourings, antioxidants and intense sweeteners are not permitted in baby foods. There are strict limits on all other additives, restricting the range and levels of additives.  Also artificial flavourings are not used in commercial weaning foods. 

All ingredients used in weaning foods are clearly shown on the label.

Additional vitamins and minerals may be added to commercial baby foods to ensure an adequate nutritional intake or to restore losses which may occur during processing. For example, iron deficiency anaemia is reported to be the commonest nutritional deficiency in infancy and childhood. 

So to help meet the high iron requirements of infants during weaning many commercial baby foods have added iron. Vitamin C may also be added as it enhances the absorption of iron.

Starches are the main storage carbohydrates of seeds and roots and are naturally present in foods such as potatoes, cereals, rice and flour. They are used in commercial baby foods just as flour or cornflour are used in the home, to achieve the right texture and consistency. 

This is very important for babies because food needs to be sucked from a spoon without being too runny or too solid. They also have the advantage of providing energy in the form of an easily digestible carbohydrate without adding too much fibre which is not good for babies.

Modified starches are food starches which have been modified to increase their tolerance to processing and stability in storage. (They have nothing to do with genetic modification.) They are safe digestible food ingredients which are used at low levels in some baby foods in jars as a stabiliser. 

Without modified starches, some baby foods would separate on processing and storage into concentrated, insoluble pieces of food and liquid. This not only looks unattractive but adversely affects the consistency, and potentially the digestibility of the product. Shaking, stirring and mixing does not always re-suspend the mixture effectively. By providing a uniform suspension during processing and storage, an even distribution of calories and nutrients is maintained. 

Modified starches are also used in some products to reduce the intensity of some fruit flavours or reduce their astringency or when other starches or stabilisers are not suitable.

Only good quality cuts of meat are used. 

Baby food manufacturers have never used any of the high risk materials banned as a result of the controls on BSE and do not use liver, kidney and mechanically recovered meat. Animals used are predominantly grass fed and beef and beef derivatives are sourced from outside the UK. No cattle over 30 months old are used. 

The majority of lamb used in commercial baby foods is sourced from outside the UK and only lamb under 12 months old is used. Whatever the origin, all lamb is monitored for scrapie and other diseases. Only high quality meat from animals that are disease-free and scrapie free is used.

Mechanically recovered meat is not used in commercial baby foods.

Meat contents of commercial baby foods vary but generally they are lower than you would normally find in adult foods.

Manufacturers control the total amount of protein (which can include meat) in their products to ensure that their products supply enough protein to support the growth and development of the infant but not so much as to put a strain on the kidneys. In addition all packets and jars of commercial baby foods must display the percentage meat content on the label.

The regulations for complementary foods give detail on meat and meat content in baby foods.  See Legislation section for further information.

Just as water is used in homemade foods, water is used in the preparation of some canned or jar baby foods for a number of reasons: 

• to cook dry ingredients such as rice, pasta or lentils 
• to mix and reconstitute dry ingredients such as dried skimmed milk 
• to make the food the right consistency - younger infants require a more liquid texture so that the food can be sucked from a spoon

Because ingredients must be listed in descending order of weight on the label which often means that water is the first ingredient in the ingredients list. But this would be the same for home-made foods. For example, home-cooked stews or casseroles are often made with 30-40% added water and the ingredients list for a home-cooked beef stew would be: Water, Beef, Onions, Carrots, Oil, Flour, Beef Stock, Salt, Pepper.

Cows' milk should not be used as the main drink for a baby under 12 months of age.

However cows' milk can be used as a food ingredient from six months of age for example when making up cereals, cheese sauces or in recipes.

Cows' milk can be used as the main drink after 12 months of age, however this should be whole milk, and not skimmed or semi-skimmed. 

Commercial baby foods are generally sold as ready to eat products in jars and cans or 'dried' to be mixed with water or the baby's usual milk before serving. 

Both types of baby food must meet the same nutritional standards, but the processes involved in their manufacture are very different, and so the ingredients chosen reflect these differences. It is, a matter of personal choice, therefore, which type of product is selected.

Although the physical growth of toddlers is less rapid than in infancy, it is during this stage that significant developments in a child's behaviour and development occur. 

Eating plays an important part in this process and the commonly used phrase the 'terrible twos' typifies behaviour commonly displayed in the 1 to 3 age group. The child may exhibit behaviour such as demanding to feed him/herself, refusing to eat meals, requesting or refusing certain foods or exhibiting bizarre food preferences - all of which may lead to a limited nutrient intake. 

This means foods and drinks which have been specially developed for toddlers can have distinct nutritional benefits over other types of foods and drinks commonly fed to toddlers. In addition to the usual advantages over adult convenience foods, toddler foods may be especially helpful in introducing the faddy eater, who will only accept a very limited range of ordinary foods, to a wider range of nutritious meals.  The range of small finger foods also means that the toddler can start to take control of their own feeding, while aiding their development.  Growing up milk, suitable for young children over 12 months of age, reflects the reduced reliance on milk in the diet in a child of this age.  It is a fortified milk product, providing key nutrients that can be limited in the diets of children of this age, including iron and vitamin D.  Growing up milk provides these nutrients in smaller volumes of milk, reflecting the fact that children of this age eat more solid foods and have a reduced reliance on milk drinks.

Compared to other foods commercial baby foods are specially developed for babies and meet very high standards of safety and quality. 

For example, pure baby rice is very different from conventional rice because it is subject to higher purity specifications, more rigorous testing procedures, higher nutritional and stricter microbiological standards. It is also more convenient to prepare than conventional rice because it can be used without further cooking when mixed with milk or water.

Organic baby foods are increasingly popular in this country and are now available nationwide. Organic foods use ingredients that are grown in accordance with European legislation for organic foods. 

In the UK, the Soil Association is the main organisation responsible for certifying that foods are 'organic' and its symbol and/or the letters UK5 will appear on the label of the 'organic' food. There are also other organisations including some from other countries that can legally certify products as organic - e.g. UK2 relates to the Organic Farmers and Growers.

To be labelled as organic at least 95% of the ingredients must be certified as organic.

The main differences between organic and non-organic foods are:

• Organic foods are produced using organic farming methods which aim to encourage biodiverse habitats and sustainable farming practices, e.g. crop rotation which builds up nutrients naturally in the soil. 
• Organic animals are fed primarily on organically-grown feedstuffs 
• Organic foods are grown and stored without the use of artificial fertilisers and most pesticides. They still have a limited range of pesticides that they can use. Although this helps to ensure that it is very unusual for organic babyfoods to contain any pesticide residues. Since July 2002 all commercial baby foods, whether or not organic, must not exceed a level of 10 parts per billion of pesticide residues.