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Why Organic Baby Food?

in The Too Busy to Diet Blog on November 5, 2013

Today’s new parents have a special concern for safety. Car seats, baby cribs, and safety plugs are all researched to insure babies start their lives out safely. But what about their food?
Parents began to demand organic baby food for their babies in the late 1990’s. This was due to concern about the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics or growth hormone in their production.
The U.S. department of Agriculture has set certain standards for organic foods. Only approved fertilizers weed killers and pesticides can be used. Man-made products are strongly discouraged.
Organic farmers generally use natural fertilizers such as manure and compost. In place of weed killers, they rotate their crops, till, weed by hand, and mulch. Products cannot be genetically engineered and certain forms of radiation are not allowed.
Foods meeting USDA standards can be labeled with the” USDA Organic” seal.
When purchasing your baby food, watch for the following:
• Make sure that your baby is eating a well-balanced diet. Check with your pediatrician and registered dietitian for baby feeding guidelines.
• Read baby food labels carefully. Organic foods are not all healthy and some are high in fat, sugar, or salt. Check or those that do not use anything other than the food itself in its purest form.

• After you have purchased the food make sure that it is handled safely and carefully. Food should not be micro waved in its original container. Place it in a dish and make sure that the food is not too hot to be fed to your baby. Make sure that once you feed the baby from a dish, leftovers are not stored in the dish that you have fed the baby from. Bacteria from the baby’s saliva may contaminate the remaining food making it more vulnerable to spoilage.
• In addition to feeding baby healthy food, remember to feed baby in a happy, calm environment. Do not negatively influence baby when you are feeding them a food you do not like. Give baby the chance to establish their own likes and dislikes. Do not get upset if baby refuses a food. Babies will often require numerous exposures to a food before accepting it. Some research shows up to 20 exposures before acceptance.