It is impossible to eliminate all contaminants from the manufacturing process of artificial baby food and each year hundreds of recalls are issued all over the world. You may want to look into your cupboards, as the latest one was issued nation-wide by Heinz for one if its baby cereals (details below). In the worst cases, errors in the manufacturing process of artificial baby food can result in illness and deaths of infants, as tragically illustrated by the deaths of 13 Chinese infants in 2008. Over 50 000 more became ill as a result of a deficient (and in that case sabotaged) manufacturing processes.
These errors occur inevitably in any industrial process and will never be eliminated. Breastmilk of course is never recalled.
Details of this Canadian recall :
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Heinz Canada have issued a Canada-wide recall of one of the company’s baby cereals. Heinz Mixed Cereal for Babies was found to contain elevated levels of Ochratoxin, a toxin created by fungi which grows on grains. The affected product information is:
Heinz Mixed Cereal, a Baby Cereal, Stage 2, From 6 Months
227 g
UPC 0 57000 02516 8
Codes:
BB/MA 10 DE 26 and
BB/MA 10 DE 29
I didn’t make much cereal for my twins (now nearly 11 months). I mostly had them eating fruits and vegetables when they first started eating food. However, I did learn a lot about toasting and cooking various whole grains from this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157061525X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0966034619&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1Q887ABWX78RHP1V0000
I just read a very good little article about how to prepare and bring home-made baby food with you on outings instead of store-bought one. It is from Just the Facts, Baby.
No problem ! There must be some good easy-to-prepare, easy to eat recipes for babies online. Do not hesitate to share them here if you find some that you like! I used to go the easy/lazy way for baby food: I would fill and freeze ice cube trays with cooked and pureed (the puree was not liquid, I progressively added more texture) squash, carrots, potatoes, all kinds of vegetables and fruits that the family would be eating anyways. I would do the same for meats, except that I would grind it and mix it with one of the vegetable cubes to make it easier to swallow. I never made my own cereals, and I’m actually pretty curious to hear how you’d make them.
Thank you so much for posting this! I’ve been waffling between making my own baby cereal and buying these. Unfortunately, I just found this one in my cupboard and it’s almost empty
Will be making my own from now on.