Question by Linotte: Which is healthier: Organic baby food from jars or homemade food made out of conventionally grown ingredients?
I am asking this because sometimes I can’t find organic fruits, vegetables or meats in the stores. Or sometimes I can find them but they are so expensive that the baby food jars–even organic ones–turn out being significantly cheaper. What is your opinion of the healthier option?
Total Recipe Hound: No, what I meant is that sometimes I can’t find the organic ingredients to make the baby food at home. Gerber food is always available. But if Gerber is always made out of organic ingredients, then why do they have a separate organic line?
Best answer:
Answer by BABIES ÜBER ALLES!
“Organic” on a label does not default to “healthier.”
“Organic foods are produced according to certain production standards. For crops, it means they were grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives.[1] For animals, it means they were reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_food
It depends how much you think the pesticide residue might be harmful.
Certainly jarred stuff is heavily processed, often watered down…organic or no, it is not made with a bottom line, not baby’s best interest, in mind.
If I didn’t have time to cook I would find one of the stores selling frozen, not jarred, baby food. (And do make use of your freezer. One organic broccoli head, carefully used, is not going to be more expensive than an equivalent amount of jarred veg.)
But. “Baby food” is so completely unnecessary for healthy, 6+mo babies, too. Eat well yourself and mash up what you eat with a fork — or Google “baby-led weaning” and look into that.
Some reading:
http://www.cspinet.org/reports/cheat1.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9646449/
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/rapley_guidelines.html
Add your own answer in the comments!
Homemade with regular vegetables. Most of them get peeled or washed before cooking so anything on the surface is removed. When you make it yourself it doesn’t get way over cooked and you control what goes into it (ie, no salt, sugar, fillers, preservatives, etc..)
You mean they don’t sell Gerber at your store? All Gerber product comes from organic sources now and has for like 8 years.
The one clear advantage of making your own food is cost. It is no more healthy. Baby food is packaged the same day it is picked. The stuff at the grocery store is often weeks old. Baby food is tested for contaminants. You don’t have that option for in home testing. Organic food can also be contaminated with E.coli (They use manure for fertilizer and they now know that e.coli is not limited to surface contamination in vegetables). Unless you grow it yourself, there is no way to say whether one is healthier than the other.
The only foods I would steer clear of (and buy organic) are those that have the highest levels of pesticides. See list at link below.
Most of the world serves babies (6 months or older) whatever they are eating for dinner, just pureed. However, I would not give an infant food from a restaurant. Food poisoning and contamination by food workers is just too much of a risk. Take jarred baby food. Recent studies have shown that infants who get food poisoning or e.coli have a higher risk of long term gastrointestinal problems because (they believe) the illness interferes with the development of intestinal villi.
Edited to add: the Organic line was already being marketed. Gerber does not require that its farms for regular line be certified organic; only that they comply with Gerber’s requirements. For instance, farms can lose certification if the farm next door uses pesticides even though the Gerber farm does not. Gerber does test the produce, but doesn’t punish its farmers for things outside their control. The Organic line does require farm certification by outside authority.
I would say homemade baby food. You know where it came from and exactly whats in it. You should check out wholesomebabyfoods.com. They have some great ideas from homemade baby food and even tell you how to properly prepare it so it it healthy for your baby.
Homemade baby purees are healthier.. especially if you grow your own veggies. If you don’t, store bought frozen veggies are best (such as frozen carrots) because often frozen vegetables are packages and frozen within hours after they are picked. Fresh vegetables get transfer to the store, then sit on the store shelf for a day or two until purchased, then sit in your fridge before use. Some nutrients are lost during this time of transition. Using a steam basket also works best.. other than boiling. Boiling depletes some of the vital nutrients. Also, with homemade, you can mix in breastmilk for even more nutrition.
Organic Gerbers are good, too, I am not saying they are unhealthy by any means.. I am just saying homemade is more nutrional and store bought contains some addatives and are watered down.
Best Wishes!