Baby Food With No Preservatives and No Additives All Natural

The study institute brands including Gerber and Beech-Nut to have "dangerously loftier" levels of toxic chemicals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury.

The report is alarming. The Usa authorities requested internal documents and test results from 7 large US baby nutrient manufacturers. Of those vii, three of them: Walmart (Parent's Choice), Campbell Soup Company (Plum Organics), and Sprout Organic Foods refused to cooperate at all.

This is concerning because the lack of cooperation could mean that their foods incorporate even higher levels of toxic metals in their babe food products.

Toxic heavy metals in baby food isn't new. Consumer advocacy groups have had like findings in recent years. In November 2019, a study was conducted by Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF), an organization dedicated to reducing babies' exposure to toxic chemicals. They establish "95 pct of tested baby foods contain toxic chemicals that lower babies' IQ, including arsenic and lead."

In that location are currently no federal standards for heavy metals in baby food in the USA.

For this reason, we're taking a deep dive into organic baby nutrient brands to find safety and reliable options.

The organic baby food we recommend is Yumi.

They apply organic vegetables that come from US family farms, and both the ingredients are tested as well as the finished products to ensure safety.

Click here to see their full range of baby foods. Use code "BETTERGOODS50" for 50% off your commencement society)

Avoiding the toxins.

It turns out that when information technology comes to baby food, the worst offenders are those that contain sweet white potato and carrot, even if organic. Rice is also a large offender only generally not found in puree foods - it's mainly institute in puff cereals meant for toddlers.

"Most of these metals are naturally occurring in soil, water or air. Plants absorb them as they grow, leaving trace amounts of the metals in the plants nosotros eat."

Evelyn Benden, RD.

Sweet potato and carrots are root vegetables that are very high in Vitamin A and other essential nutrients, but unfortunately, also high in lead and cadmium.

Happy Babies Bright Futures doesn't recommend completely avoiding babe nutrient with sweetness white potato and carrot. Instead, they recommend feeding these foods and a variety of other foods to limit exposure while nonetheless getting the benefit of these nutritious veggies.

Information technology should just get a problem if you're feeding your footling i a diet consisting simply of root veggies similar carrots and sugariness potatoes.

The new 2021 report goes farther, though. It seems as though nutrient additives and the manufacturing process might be adding even more heavy metals to the food.

According to the report, near companies but test the ingredients used in the food, not the terminal product. In the case of Hain (Earth's Best Organics), 100% of the infant foods tested had higher inorganic arsenic levels than the company estimated based on testing the individual ingredients - sometimes upwards to 93% higher.

Current food labeling laws don't require manufacturers to label foods or have a warning characterization of any kind, either.

Today nosotros're going to answer questions like:

• Why new information shows that baby food has toxic heavy metals.
• How to read a baby food label & what the certifications hateful.
• How to avert the toxic contaminants that might exist lurking in babe food.
• The problem with sugar in baby food.
• What to wait for in a skillful baby food.
• Which baby foods you can really trust.

October 2021: Update

On October 21, 2021, 23 attorney generals in the US petitioned the FDA to expedite their process of implementing standards for heavy metals in baby food. Currently, the timeline looks like limiting atomic number 82 in baby food past the middle of 2022, limiting inorganic arsenic by April 2024, and limiting cadmium and mercury after April 2024.

Similar most governmental issues, this appears to exist moving extremely slowly, and it'south unacceptable. There are currently zippo regulations on heavy metallic contagion in baby nutrient, but the proposed plans are years away from implementation.

Until then, it'due south up to us to do our research to avoid the brands tested and found to contain dangerous detectable levels of heavy metals.

The Best Organic Babe Food Brands

We took a deep look at all of the organic infant food brands and the diverse varieties of food they offering.

This listing has been updated as of March 2021 taking into account the new report from the Subcommittee on Economical and Consumer Policy Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Our Recommended Brand: Yumi (USDA Certified Organic)

Because of their commitment to safety, using only organic ingredients, and rigorous testing for heavy metals, we gladly recommend Yumi babe food as a safe alternative to the brands mentioned in the contempo federal babe food report.

Yumi is an online-only brand that ships to the 48 contiguous United States.

Yumi claims that they partner with merely trusted farms that are USDA-certified organic and Non-GMO Project verified. They also use federal soil contagion information to discover the all-time farms. They too regularly test both the ingredients and finished products for heavy metals.

They use no soy, rice, or fruit juice, the main culprits that add heavy metals to infant food.

Yumi's infant nutrient uses only USDA-certified organic ingredients, making them free from pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The meals are fabricated fresh every week in their kitchens in Los Angeles.

Because the meals are freshly fabricated and without preservatives, they're adept in the fridge for 7 days or 2 months in the freezer. Once opened, be sure to use information technology within 24 hours.

We also like that the make uses many ingredients and has a wide selection of foods to choose from.

How It Works

Yumi is a subscription delivery service where yous'll receive freshly-made jars of babe nutrient every week.

When yous register on the website, you enter your baby'due south nascency date, and the site volition recommend what they believe is the ideal nutrient plan for your child. Yous have the option to choose i, 2, or three meals per day, with iii giving the best toll per jar.

You're free to swap out any flavors as you wish after placing your order.

Prices differ depending on the number of jars you social club. Nonetheless, the 8-jar programme is a great way to test out the service, with the 24-jar programme being significantly cheaper per jar.

Because of Yumi'south commitment to providing safe, fresh, and organic baby nutrient free of toxic metals, we recommend them.

Click here to visit Yumi's website and brand your first society.

Once Upon a Farm (cold-pressed and no preservatives)

Once Upon a Subcontract is a great newer brand that makes fantabulous options for organic baby food pouches. Of class, they're certified organic and non-GMO and fabricated in California.

Click here to see their infant food on Amazon.

They don't use any preservatives, and the pouches are perishable and must stay refrigerated. If you expect for them in-shop, they'll exist in the refrigerated section! They're available in most Whole Foods.

They use HPP (cold-pressing), which uses loftier pressure rather than heat to fix the production. This procedure helps maintain the sense of taste, texture, and color of the product instead of shelf-stable baby food products that are heated and pasteurized, which destroys a lot of the nutritional value.

They're a bit expensive at about $2.50 per pouch (if bought from Amazon -- higher from their official site). Still, they're i of the better and more trustworthy brands out in that location.

Best choices from Once Upon a Farm:

• Brocc-On! (1g saccharide)
• Green Bean-y Zucchini (2g sugar)
• I Carrot Lot Cup (3g sugar)
• Cauliflower & Bell Pepper Power (2g sugar)
• Sun-Shiny Strawberry Patch (7g sugar)
• Strawberry Beet Basil Cup (7g sugar)
• Farmer Jen and the Giant Squash (8g sugar)

Feed these sparingly (possible heavy metallic contamination):

• And then Sweet Tater Cup (3g carbohydrate, possible heavy metal contamination)
• Mama Bear Blueberry (7g saccharide, contains sweet white potato)

High in sugar content:

• Prince of Prunes Loving cup (11g sugar)
• Apple tree Basin (12g sugar)
• Magic Velvet Mango (12g sugar)
• Wild Rumpus Avocado (10g sugar, principal ingredient is actually pineapple)
• Harbinger-pear-y Carrot Loving cup (9g sugar, possible heavy metal contamination)
• Blueberry Conduct Cup (9g carbohydrate, contains sweet tater / heavy metal contamination)
• Pineapple of My Center Cup (11g sugar)
• OhMyMega Veggie! (9g sugar, apple tree is commencement ingredient)
• Green Kale & Apples (9g carbohydrate, chief ingredient is apple and piddling kale)
• Banana Strawberry Beet Basin (11g saccharide)
• Apple tree Sweetness Murphy Huckleberry Bowl (11g sugar, contains sweet murphy / heavy metal contagion)
• Pear Carrot Mango Bowl (9g sugar)
• Squash Bucklin' Sage Cup (10g sugar, principal ingredient apples)
• Dazzler and the Beet Cup (10g sugar, chief ingredient apples)
• Golden-y Mango & the 3 Coconuts (10g carbohydrate)

Ella's Kitchen (UK-just)

Ella's Kitchen is a British brand that makes a whole bunch of good infant food pouches. They're not the almost accessible brand to source in the US, but some are bachelor on Amazon.

They're all certified organic, and best of all, a lot of them are veggie-based instead of fruit-based.

If you source them from Amazon, they come out at a little more than $2 per pouch, a typical standard price.

We exercise wish this make was more widely available in the United states. Considering of this we can't give it top marks, but if you're in the U.k. or are okay with the small selection bachelor here, Ella's Kitchen is a good brand.

four+ months

• squash, sweet potatoes + parsnips (one.7g sugar)
• Sweetcorn (2g sugar)
• carrots, peas + kale (2.2g sugar)
• Courgettes, apples + avocados (6.7g sugar -- 60% apple)
• spinach apples + swedes (7.4g sugar)
• Strawberries, rhubarb + apples (7.6g sugar)
• Mighty grains peach, mango + amaranth (8g sugar)
• Mighty grains squash, apple + quinoa (8g sugar -- 74% apple)

six+ months

• mmmmm bubble + squeak with leeks (2g sugar)
• mmmmm macaroni cheese with basil (2.5g sugar)
• mmmmm cauliflower cheese with butter beans (two.5g saccharide)
• mmmmm veggie couscous with herbs (3g carbohydrate -- has carrot)
• mmmmm love apple + lentil bake with ruby peppers (5g saccharide -- has sweet spud)

vii+ months

• fabulously filling Fish Pie with parsley (3g sugar -- has carrots)
• wonderfully warming Beef Stew with spuds (2.6g sugar - has carrots)
• chick-chick Chicken Casserole with apricots (5.5g sugar - has carrots)
• very, very tasty Vegetable + Lentil Bake with sauce (five.3g sugar)
• lovely Lamb Roast Dinner with all the trimmings (2.3g sugar)
• oh so creamy Craven + Veg with sweetcorn mash (2.5g sugar)
• lip smacking Spag Bol with a sprinkle of cheese (4g saccharide)
• punchy Pork Roast Dinner with apple sauce (4g sugar)
• full of beans Veggie Feast with basil (4g sugar)
• big smiles Cheesy Pie with veggies (3.4g carbohydrate)
• oodles of fun Craven + Noodles with red peppers (2.7g sugar)
• Zingy Lamb + Cous Cous with mangoes + raisins (half dozen.8g sugar)
• vroom vroom Veggie Lasagne with a sprinkle of cheese (4g sugar)
• bang blindside Bangers + Mash with veggies (3g sugar)
• cheery Chicken Roast Dinner with stuffing (three.4g carbohydrate)
• cheeky Greek-y Veggie Moussaka with red lentils (2g saccharide)
• jammin' Jamaican Curried Pork with rice + peas (three.3g sugar)
• moreish Moroccan Chicken with chickpeas + cumin (4.7g sugar)
• arriba arriba Mexican Craven with rice and peppers (3g sugar)
• seriously comforting Cottage Pie with a pinch of cinnamon (3.1g sugar)
• slap-up greens Veggie Risotto with cheese (i.2g sugar)
• balmy chilli con carne (2.2g carbohydrate)
• Tomato-y pasta with plenty of veg (4.4g sugar)

10+ months

• Nicely spiced chicken curry with veggie rice (six.6g sugar)
• Easy Peas-y Cheesy Pasta with lots of veg (5.7g carbohydrate)
• wonderfully warming Beefiness Stew with spuds (3.8g sugar)
• lip smacking Spag Bol with a sprinkle of cheese (five.9g sugar)
• full of sunshine Thai Curry with noodles + coconut (6.7g saccharide)
• lovely Lamb Roast Dinner with all the trimmings (3.4g sugar)
• chick-chick-Chicken Goulash with apricots (8g sugar)
• perfectly pleasing Tomato-y Pasta with plenty of veg (7.2g sugar)
• super scrummy Salmon Risotto with a sprinkle of cheese (3g sugar)
• seriously comforting Cottage Pie with a pinch of cinnamon (four.9g sugar)
• totally cool Caribbean Chicken with mangoes (7.4g carbohydrate)

Feed these sparingly (possible heavy metal contamination):

• sweet potatoes broccoli + carrots (8g sugar)
• squash, sweetness potatoes + parsnips (vi.7g sugar)
• sweetness potatoes (3g sugar)
• parsnips (3g sugar)
• carrots (3g saccharide)
• mmmmm chickpea + sweet white potato mash with sweetcorn (5g saccharide)

High in sugar content:

• sweet potatoes + pumpkin apples + blueberries (11g sugar, possible heavy metallic contamination)
• Carrots apples + parsnips (11g sugar)
• strawberries + apples (12g saccharide)
• bananas + apples (20g sugar)
• broccoli pears + peas (ix.5g sugar)
• peaches + bananas (16g sugar)
• butternut squash carrots apples + prunes (11g sugar)
• plums pears parsnips + swedes (9g sugar)
• carrots peas + pears (9g sugar)
• mangoes pears + papayas (10g sugar)
• red peppers, sweet potatoes + apples (9g sugar, possible heavy metallic contamination)
• blueberries apples bananas + vanilla (16g saccharide)
• bananas + coconuts (22g sugar)
• Pears, nectarines + guava (10g sugar)
• Mighty grains raspberry, apple + buckwheat (8.6g carbohydrate -- mainly apple)
• peas, peas, peas (0.4g saccharide, simply 50% water, l% peas)

Square Baby (good, but expensive subscription service)

Foursquare Babe is an interesting new make. They're only available online and currently only evangelize to the US states of CA, OR, WA, ID, UT, NV, AZ, and CO. They're a subscription-based startup where you receive their frozen meals on a scheduled ground.

Their products are all USDA certified organic and not-GMO.

The brand does an splendid task of creating salubrious, organic meals that aren't full of sugars and fruits. Apart from some of their baby fruit purees, the rest of the lineup is quite good.

However, this comes at a cost. You're spending $79 for 14 meals at the everyman tier, which works out to $5.64 a meal for a 113g container. This is probable out of upkeep for many people, and since they're simply available to a few select states on the westward coast, it's a niche brand.

Only if it sounds appealing to receive healthy, organic frozen meals to your front door that you simply reheat and serve, and you lot're okay with the price, Square Baby isn't a bad brand at all.

Best options from Square Babe:

iv+ months

• Lil Carrot (3g sugar)
• Lil Sweet Pea (4g sugar)
• Lil Peach (6g sugar)

6+ months

• Minty Dark-green (4g sugar)
• Peachy Oatmeal (4g sugar)
• Peanut Pumpkin Pie (5g sugar)
• Greenie Baby (5g sugar)
• Beet Berry (5g carbohydrate)
• Apple Rosemary Lentils (5g sugar)
• Apple Curry Chicken (6g sugar)
• Mango Coconut Chicken (7g sugar)

• eight+ months

• Avocado Greens (1g carbohydrate)
• Salmon Mash (5g sugar)
• Spinach Dahl (4g sugar)
• Mango Rice Pudding (5g sugar)
• Infant Blues (5g sugar)
• Veggie Scramble (4g sugar)

Feed these sparingly (possible heavy metal contamination):

• (iv+ months) Lil Sweet White potato (6g sugar, possible heavy metallic contamination)
• (6+ months) Harvest Feast (4g carbohydrate, contains sweet spud)

High in sugar content:

• Lil Mango (13g carbohydrate)
• Lil Pear (11g saccharide)

Little Spoon (good, but expensive subscription service)

Little Spoon is another newer startup that makes and delivers fresh baby nutrient blends to your door. All of their product is made in southern California and is available only through their website.

Their blends are certified USDA organic, and about of them have a bully nutritional profile. They arrive fresh and must be consumed within 14 days or should be disposed of. This is because they're not using whatever preservatives or pasteurization.

Pricing is based on your location and we weren't able to find a list anywhere, merely they also run on a subscription service. Shipping is only bachelor to the continental USA.

Nosotros did a trial checkout with the area code "90210" (Beverly Hills) and the plans range from $2.98/meal for 3 meals per day, to $3.93/meal for 1 meal per day. Much like the other subscription services like Foursquare Baby, information technology'southward pretty pricey for what you're getting.

But the target audience of a product like this is those brusque on time and want to pay for convenience, so if that sounds like you, Little Spoon is a good brand to try.

Best choices from Little Spoon:

• Broccoli Spinach (2g carbohydrate)
• Zucchini (2g saccharide)
• Butternut Squash (2g sugar)
• Avocado Greenish Apple Broccoli Spirulina (6g saccharide, broccoli and apple are main ingredients)
• Kale Avocado Light-green Apple tree Chia (6g sugar)
• Pitaya Pineapple Spinach Banana Coconut Oil (7g sugar)
• Broccoli Pineapple Banana Hemp (7g sugar)
• Carrot Apple Buckwheat Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Flax Oil (7g carbohydrate)
• Kale White Bean Pear Basil Quinoa Avocado Oil (7g carbohydrate)
• Quinoa Butternut Squash Kale Apple (7g sugar)
• Strawberry Basil Beet Pear Chia (8g saccharide)
• Spinach Mango Banana Hemp (8g sugar)

Feed these sparingly (possible heavy metal contamination):

• Sweet White potato Carrot (5g saccharide, possible heavy metallic contamination)

Too much sugar:

• Carrot Mango Coconut Milk Turmeric (10g sugar)
• Carrot Mango Banana Chia (10g saccharide)
• Quinoa Raspberry Pear Coconut Milk Vanilla Date Wheat Germ Oil (13g carbohydrate)
• Huckleberry Chickpea Spinach Pear Rosemary (9g sugar)
• Sweetness Potato Apple tree Blueberry Flax (9g saccharide, possible heavy metallic contagion)
• Sweet Potato Apple Ruby-red Bong Pepper Turmeric (10g sugar, possible heavy metal contamination)
• Pea Pear Mint (10g carbohydrate)
• Kale Carrot Pear (9g sugar, mainly pear and apple tree)
• Carrot Apple Ginger (11g carbohydrate)
• Beet Banana Mango (14g sugar)
• Pear (11g sugar)
• Apple tree (12g sugar)
• Mango (15g sugar)
• Prunes (11g sugar)

Another Recommended Brand: Tranquility Kids (Good But Expensive)

Repose Kids is i of the best brands of store-bought organic baby food and one we'd recommend.

Click here to run across their full range of baby foods. (Apply CODE "GLOWINGNEST" FOR fifteen% OFF YOUR Starting time Lodge!)

Not all of their products are certified organic by the USDA only there'due south a reason for information technology. From modest family farms, the beef and pork are raised organically without GMO feed, hormones or antibiotics. Due to the prohibitive costs, these small farms can't beget USDA certification. The wild-caught salmon can't exist certified organic because it's non a product of agronomics.

At Placidity Kids, we carefully vet our suppliers to ensure nosotros use the cleanest possible ingredients. We use organic vegetables that come from trusted American-family farms that conduct testing on their own soil, have robust food safety programs, and undergo the nearly rigorous food rubber audit, SQF Level Three. Meats are naturally lower in heavy metals, and we source ours from farms with the highest quality and environmental standards.

Serenity Carr, CEO of Serenity Kids

What we similar virtually this brand is that the pouches contain a lot less sugar than most. Nosotros looked at all of the products, and at most, they contain 4g of saccharide per serving (the entire 100g pouch), where many competing brands accept 12g or more sugar in the same serving size.

Parents of picky kids, rejoice.

Serenity Kids has an fantabulous policy where they will refund your coin, no questions asked, if your child simply doesn't like the production.

The downside to this brand is that some of their product is expensive. The pouches with meat poly peptide are $23.95 for 6 (or $4 each per pouch), while the veggie-but ones are $13.95 for half-dozen, (or $2.xxx each per pouch). The meat ones are the best, but at $iv per pouch it's not the most affordable selection on the market.

Their labeling is also a little fleck misleading. For example, the expensive meat pouches are labelled things like "Gratis Range Chicken with Organic Peas and Carrots." But if you take a look at the nutritional information, the start ingredient is actually peas, and so carrots (which are both cheap), with the free range craven being the third ingredient.

Yeah, it'southward marketing, simply it'south misleading marketing, especially considering the cost of the meat poly peptide pouches.

But having said that, if yous have the money, this is a great make that we highly recommend.

The best options from Serenity Kids:

• Uncured Salary with Organic Kale and Butternut Squash (1g sugar)
• Wild Defenseless Salmon with Organic Butternut Squash and Beet (2g sugar)
• Grass Fed Bison with Organic Kabocha Squash and Spinach (2g saccharide)
• Organic Butternut Squash and Spinach (2g carbohydrate)
• Organic Squashes (2g sugar)
• Grass Fed Beef with Organic Kale and Sweetness Potatoes (3g sugar)
• Free Range Chicken with Organic Peas and Carrots (3g sugar)
• Pasture Raised Turkey with Organic Pumpkin and Beets (3g sugar)

Feed these sparingly (metal contamination hazard):

• Organic Roots (4g sugar)
• Organic Sugariness Murphy and Spinach (4g sugar)

NurturMe (not many good options)

NurturMe'due south big selling point is that they utilise quinoa in many of their products, including many of their baby food pouches. Quinoa is a grain full of amino acids, omegas 3, 6, and 9, and more. It's considered a "superfood" in some circles and tin can be an first-class grain for your child.

Click here to see their baby food on Amazon.

The price isn't bad: at about $one.25 per pouch (if you lot buy the 12-packs), they're not going to intermission the bank, but you'd still be better off making almost of these blends yourself.

The sugar content of their babe food pouches is a little higher than nosotros'd like to see. This is because most of their blends contain sweetness fruit similar bananas, pears, or mango. For example, the pineapple + banana + oatmeal alloy has 12g of sugar per serving, which is high. Considering of this, nosotros can't recommend this brand over others.

There's only one product they offering that is below our sugar limits:

• apple + pumpkin + beet (7g saccharide)

High in sugar content:

• carrot + mango + apple (9g sugar)
• pear + pea + spinach (9g carbohydrate)
• mango + guava + quinoa (11g carbohydrate)
• pear + quinoa + amaranth + spinach (10g sugar)
• pineapple + assistant + oatmeal (12g carbohydrate)
• strawberry + banana + amaranth (10g sugar)
• assistant + pumpkin + celery (11g sugar)

Brands To Avert

Based on the 2021 baby nutrient report by the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer PolicyCommittee on Oversight and Reform, nosotros strongly recommend avoiding these brands:

Avert: Walmart (Parent's Option), Sprout Organic Foods, and Campbell (Plum Organics).

All iii of these companies refused to cooperate with the investigation.

"The Subcommittee is greatly concerned that their lack of cooperation might obscure the presence of even higher levels of toxic heavy metals in their baby food products, compared to their competitors' products. Independent testing of Walmart, Sprout Organic Foods, and Campbell products has confirmed that their infant foods contain concerning levels of toxic heavy metals."

Avoid: Beech-Nut

Co-ordinate to the report:

"Beech-Nut used ingredients after they tested as high as 913.4 ppb arsenic. Beech-Nut routinely used high-arsenic additives that tested over 300 ppb."

"Beech-Nut used ingredients containing as much as 886.nine ppb pb. It used many ingredients with loftier lead content, including 483 that contained over 5 ppb lead, 89 that contained over 15 ppb lead, and 57 that contained over xx ppb lead."

"Beech-Nut used 105 ingredients that tested over 20 ppb cadmium. Some tested much higher, upwards to 344.55 ppb cadmium."

"Beech-Nut (does) non even exam for mercury in babe food."

For these reasons, nosotros strongly recommend avoiding Beech-Nut's babe food.

Avert: Nurture (HappyBABY)

According to the written report:

"Nurture (HappyBABY) sold infant foods later on tests showed they contained as much as 180 parts per billion (ppb) inorganic arsenic. Over 25% of the products Nurture tested before sale independent over 100 ppb inorganic arsenic. Nurture'south testing shows that the typical infant food product information technology sold contained lx ppb inorganic arsenic."

"Nurture (HappyBABY) sold finished babe food products that tested equally high as 641 ppb lead. About 20% of the finished babe food products that Nurture tested contained over ten ppb atomic number 82."

"Sixty-v pct of Nurture (HappyBABY) finished baby nutrient products contained more than five ppb cadmium."

"Nurture (HappyBABY) sold finished infant food products containing as much as ten ppb mercury."

"Nurture (HappyBABY) sold all products tested, regardless of how much toxic heavy metal the baby food independent. Past visitor policy, Nurture'south toxic heavy metal testing is not intended for consumer safety. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only finalized i standard—100 ppb inorganic arsenic in babe rice cereal—and Nurture set up its internal standard for that production 15% higher than the FDA limit, at 115 ppb."

Avoid: Hain (Earth's Best Organic)

According to the study:

"Hain (Earth's All-time Organic) sold finished infant food products containing as much equally 129 ppb inorganic arsenic. Hain typically only tested its ingredients, non finished products. Documents show that Hain used ingredients testing as high as 309 ppb arsenic."

"Hain (Earth'due south Best Organic) used ingredients containing as much as 352 ppb lead. Hain used many ingredients with high pb content, including 88 that tested over twenty ppb atomic number 82 and six that tested over 200 ppb atomic number 82."

"Hain (World's All-time Organic) used 102 ingredients in its babe food that tested over 20 ppb cadmium. Some tested much college, up to 260 ppb cadmium."

"Hain (Globe's All-time Organic) prepare an internal standard of 200 ppb for arsenic, lead, and cadmium in some of its ingredients. But Hain exceeded its internal policies, using ingredients containing 353 ppb lead and 309 ppb arsenic. Hain justified deviations above its ingredient testing standards based on "theoretical calculations," even subsequently Hain admitted to FDA that its testing underestimated terminal product toxic heavy metal level."

Avoid: Gerber

"Gerber used high-arsenic ingredients, using 67 batches of rice flour that had tested over 90 ppb inorganic arsenic."

"Gerber used ingredients that tested as loftier as 48 ppb lead; and used many ingredients containing over 20 ppb lead."

"70-five percent of Gerber's carrots independent cadmium in excess of 5 ppb, with some containing up to 87 ppb cadmium."

"Gerber rarely tests for mercury in its baby foods."

The Problems With Baby Food

Problem #1: Toxic Metals? In My Baby Food?

95% of baby food -- even organic baby food -- contains one or more than toxic heavy metals.

This is the terrifying findings of a contempo (November 2019) study by Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF), an system dedicated to reducing babies' exposure to toxic chemicals.

They found the following toxic metals:

• Lead - A whopping 94% of baby food tested contained lead. Extremely toxic.
• Cadmium - 74% of baby foods contained this metal linked with brain impairment, cancer, and more.
• Arsenic - 73% of tested babe foods contained this toxic metal with links to damage to developing brain and nervous systems.
• Mercury - 32% independent mercury, which is linked to brain damage and worse.

As scary as this sounds, you lot shouldn't be alarmed. Information technology's like shooting fish in a barrel to read information similar this and start freaking out, simply information technology's non the end of the globe, and it doesn't mean that you shouldn't feed your child shop-bought baby food.

So if even organic babe foods tin can incorporate these toxic metals, what can you do about it?

In our guide, we will identify the condom baby foods and mark those that contain high amounts of sugariness potato or carrot.

But delight don't live in fear of letting your petty ane eat carrots and sweetness potatoes. It'due south fine -- multifariousness is the cardinal!

Prophylactic Alternatives

Unfortunately, making your baby food isn't going to avoid these heavy metals. And the standards like USDA organic certification don't account for heavy metals, so even buying organic isn't going to avoid it.

The following is a list of better alternatives to carrots and sweet potatoes. Since these veggies are grown higher up-ground, they should be safe from toxic heavy metallic contamination.

Yet, since several of these options (like apples and pears) are high in pesticide content, they should always be bought organic when possible.

• Bananas
• Apples
• Prunes
• Pears
• Butternut squash (similar nutrient profile to carrots and sweet spud)
• Pumpkin (also has similar food contour to carrots and sugariness murphy)
• Peaches
• Grapes

Problem #2: Commercial Baby Nutrient Tin can Be Misleading and Unhealthy

Yous accept to be very careful when it comes to blindly trusting infant nutrient labeling. You lot might remember that the industry has our children'southward best interests in mind and would make the foods as healthy every bit possible, correct?

Unfortunately, that couldn't exist further from the truth.

You don't take to wait very far to detect babe foods full of processed ingredients and tons of sugars. Feeding your footling 1 a diet of baby foods like this will set them up to prefer sugariness foods and decline those that aren't sugariness—a recipe for a picky eater.

And what'southward worse is that just considering a characterization says it's "spinach and beet," if yous turn the package over and look at the ingredients, y'all might find that it's mainly but cheap fruit purees and juices with spinach and beet being a tiny percentage of the actual container.

It's super important to expose our children to various tastes and textures at a young historic period, then they abound up to enjoy all of the dissimilar foods we have available. A child given only a diet of sweet, fruit-based foods might grow up to dislike the bitter gustatory modality of spinach and never learn to enjoy it.

Look at the label for this Gerber baby food pouch:

Ingredients include coloring, gelatin, juice concentrates (to brand it sweeter), added sugars (14g of saccharide!), and many ingredients y'all can't even pronounce. Plus less than 1g of cobweb, which is crazy because apples and strawberries are high in fiber in their natural grade.

Problem #3: Sugars

Recently, infant nutrient has come nether fire for the high levels of sugars.

These super-sugary foods and treats are setting children upwards to be hooked on them. A diet heavy in sugars tin can lead to tooth decay, obesity and other health effects.

It's a trick. You'll buy a baby food pouch that says it's "spinach, kale, and apples," but piffling exercise yous know that apples are the master ingredient. Baby eats it and loves it, and you're like, "wow, this baby food is awesome! She's eating spinach and kale like you wouldn't believe!" -- simply it'south just total of carbohydrate, and that'southward why she likes it and so much.

A sneaky way companies add together sugar to their baby foods is past using full-bodied juices, such as pear. You might read the label and encounter "concentrated pear juice" and not think twice about information technology. Still, it'south adding a lot of unnecessary sugar.

Nosotros are giving kids a sweet tooth from an early age.

A significant side-effect of giving our kids besides much saccharide is giving them a sense of taste for sugariness foods, which can continue as they get older.

It'south essential to expose children to diverse tastes—sweet, sour, and bitter—so that they learn to enjoy them equally they get older.

If we feed our children purees full of saccharide, they might very well grow upwards to but appreciate sweetness and sugary tastes.

Feed a variety of foods, not just fruits.

A lot of store-bought purees are essentially boiled and reduced fruits, making them concentrated in saccharide. Often, manufacturers utilize fruits like banana and mango, which are naturally high in saccharide, and when reduced, end upward making for baby food that is very high in sugars.

You might be wondering: if it's fruit saccharide, isn't that okay?

Unfortunately, it isn't.

Nosotros believe that baby food should exist, ideally, lower in carbohydrate. We will indicate which foods have acceptable levels of sugar.

The Solution: A Healthy, Organic Babe Food That'due south Low in Sugar

Thankfully, fifty-fifty with the problems outlined above, it'due south still possible to detect an outstanding, organic store-bought baby food that you can trust. There are no harmful, toxic chemicals, not loaded with sugars, and full of good, healthy nutrients that your lilliputian one needs.

To be sold every bit organic in the U.s., baby nutrient needs to be certified by the USDA. But there are three different certifications the USDA might give an "organic production."

Let's accept a await at them.

What Do The Organic Labels on Baby Food Mean?

In the The states, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) controls the labeling of organic products.

A product that has the USDA logo is certified organic. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the product is 100% organic.

There are several certifications you lot'll find on organic foods. They are every bit follows:

• 100% Organic: Completely free of all chemical fertilizers, hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and genetic modification. You won't find any baby food labeled 100% organic.
• USDA Organic: This label can be used on any product that contains at to the lowest degree 95% organic ingredients. The v% not-organic ingredients must either be unavailable commercially in organic class.
• Fabricated with Organic Ingredients: If a product is labelled "made with organic ingredients", it must contain at to the lowest degree 70% organic ingredients.

The Non-GMO project.

For a baby food to carry the "non-GMO Project Verified" characterization, the company that sells the production has both:

1. Paid a fee to the Non-GMO Project.
2. Had their production lab-tested to insure that the product has no genetically-modified ingredients.

However, this testing isn't perfect.

While the project does do its best, with current technologies, they can't 100% guarantee that the ingredients haven't been genetically modified. In reality, the label means that the production contains little GMO cloth, not that it'due south necessarily completely free of GMO textile.

The Not-GMO Projection isn't without its controversies. Many critics claim that the non-turn a profit is preying on consumer's fears because they will certify any product as being non-GMO fifty-fifty if it tin can't mayhap be genetically modified.

If you're shopping for baby food at the store and 1 catches your eye because it says "contains no cyanide", you might think to yourself "Wow, I had no idea that baby food could contain cyanide, I amend buy this one." Simply in fact, none of the infant foods comprise cyanide. Information technology's the aforementioned idea with the non-GMO verification.

It's the best nosotros take right at present, and I'd definitely prefer a product with the not-GMO characterization over one without it.

How To Find a Healthy, Organic Baby Food

Here is some helpful criteria you should follow, that we used when making our list of the best organic baby foods:

1. Low in saccharide content. Manufacturer's honey to put a ton of sugar in their products, and then aim for those that have 8g or less sugar per serving.
2. Avoid products that incorporate whatever ingredients that are probable to be contaminated with heavy metals. The worst offenders are those with sweet potato and carrot and we will label those that should exist avoided.
3. Go for non-fruit pouches. Veggie-based pouches are typically more food-dumbo and have less sugars. Not only that but it helps your trivial one get used to the taste of actual vegetables.
4. Beware of the labels. If a product says it's "spinach, broccoli and apple tree, you take to read the characterization. The actual principal ingredient might be just apple tree.
5. Look for the fiber. A lot of baby foods are filled with water or fillers and have very low cobweb. 2g of cobweb is a good place to aim for.

Making Your Ain Babe Food

We would strongly recommend making your own baby food over store-bought jars or pouches.

Here'due south why:

• It'southward far cheaper. Organic baby food pouches tin run equally much as $v per serving, which can really add upwards.
• You know exactly what's going into it. Information technology'due south easy to buy organic ingredients from the local grocery store, and you're probably not going to add any preservatives, right?
• About baby purees are processed. Even if they're organic, they're still going through a process that can destroy some of the nutrients in the food.
• Yous can use any food you lot want. There are some common ingredients in packaged infant foods. If you make your own food, you can use lesser-used ingredients, similar melons or meats. A wider variety of food makes for a less picky babe!
• Baby can eat the aforementioned food as the family. This not merely makes for a bonding experience, merely exposing them to a wider variety of foods can brand them less of a picky eater likewise.
• Store-bought nutrient can be high in sugar. Because of the process they use to make the purees, which often means boiling and reducing the fruit downwards, it ends upwardly being more than highly concentrated with sugars. Some companies even practice sneaky things like add grape juice concentrate to the mixture, making it much sweeter than it should be.

If y'all think information technology's too circuitous or time-consuming to make your own food, it's not. You can spend an hour or two making food and make enough for the month.

The Dirty Dozen: Foods to Avoid

What's the muddied dozen? Nope, it's non a rap group.

It'south the Environmental Working Group'due south listing of the top 12 fruits and vegetables to avoid by the amount of pesticide remainder plant in them.

If you decide to make your own baby nutrient, information technology'd be best to avoid any of these veggies if you lot're not ownership them 100% organic.

Apples top the listing, forth with peaches, celery, and potatoes. You can detect the complete list here.

Keeping Baby Food Safety: Some Guidelines

At that place are some guidelines you should follow when handling and using your babe food.

1. Pay attention to the expiry dates on food. Well-nigh babe foods, even the organic ones, have preservatives and are pasteurized to make them shelf stable. But y'all should still be careful. This is especially true for some of the choices on our listing that don't have preservatives at all. If it looks funky or the packaging seems damaged, throw it out.
2. To go along things every bit safe as possible, throw out uneaten portions of food. Information technology might be okay in the fridge for a few hours, just if it's going to go overnight, just toss it out. Bacteria from babe's rima oris will multiply quickly in containers.
3. Never feed baby any habitation-canned foods. These foods sometimes contain bacteria that is no problem for grown adults, but non so much for the immature allowed systems of infants.
4. If you make your own food and freeze information technology, brand certain to characterization it properly. In full general, fruit or veggie-based foods should be used within 3 months of freezing.
5. If you're traveling with a baby food pouch that'south opened, always keep it in a refrigerated container.

Summing It Upwardly

Information technology's definitely worth making sure you lot feed your baby organic foods, whether or non you buy them pre-fabricated or make them yourself!

I like the idea of doing both. Make your own natural, healthy baby food while you lot have the fourth dimension, but accept premade baby food packets or jars for the times when you don't have the free energy or time to make food.

The organic babe food we recommend is Yumi.

They use organic vegetables that come from Usa family farms, and both the ingredients are tested as well equally the finished products to ensure safety.

If you want a quick recommendation for a not bad organic babe food make, click here to check out Yumi, our recommended brand. Use code "BETTERGOODS50" for fifty% off your first club.

I'm personally really glad that more and more moms are realizing how important information technology is to scout what we requite our children!

Do y'all brand your own babe food? If non, do you stick to organic food? Practice you have any questions? Permit me know in the comments section beneath!

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Source: https://bettergoods.org/best-organic-baby-food/