The Pros and Cons of Commercial Baby Food: What Parents Need to Know
As a new parent, one of the most important decisions you'll make is what to feed your baby. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to know what's best. One option is commercial baby food, which is pre-prepared food sold ready to eat in pouches, jars or cans.
However, before you reach for that next pouch of pureed lamb with peas, it's essential to understand both the pros and cons of this type of food. In this blog, we'll take a closer look at what commercial baby food is, how it's made, and the potential benefits and drawbacks.
What is Commercial Baby Food?
Commercial baby food is a multi-billion dollar industry, with extremely clever marketing, that provides pre-prepared food for babies. The food is typically sold in pouches, jars, or cans and is marketed as a convenient and nutritious option for busy parents.
How is Commercial Baby Food Made?
Although commercial baby foods may not contain any foreign ingredients, to keep the natural ingredients shelf stable, they are often milled, strained, boiled or chemically washed and put under ultra high heats many times. These processes can kill the good bacteria and significantly reduce the nutrient content. They may state that they are fortified with iron, but sometimes at low levels. Commercial baby foods also often use ground rice as a filler which is highly processed and provides little nutrition.
The Pros of Commercial Baby Food
The most significant advantage of commercial baby food is the convenience. It's quick, easy, and requires no preparation or cooking.
The Cons of Commercial Baby Food
While commercial baby food has its benefits, it also has some potential drawbacks. Unfortunately, relying heavily on commercial baby food can result in low vegetable and meat intake, and excessively high fruit intake. For example a quick scan of the supermarket shelves revealed a pouch called “Chicken, sweetcorn and brown rice” only had 3.5% chicken; another one called “Beef, sweet potato and parsnip” had only 5% beef; and also a “Sweet potato, carrot and apple” pouch had 60% apple. They may also have sugar added into them for example the “Creamy rice pudding” and “Vanilla custard” both had added sugar in the ingredients list. And “Custard with banana” had more added sugar in it than banana, at only 1.5%.
Furthermore, many do not contain allergens so high use can result in minimal allergen exposure. Therefore if you’re using them you may like to add nut butters, egg and other allergen containing foods to increase allergen exposure. Commercial baby foods can reduce flavour and texture exposure due to the limited range, so again mixing these with other foods can be helpful. They are also generally much more costly than preparing food fresh at home.
Using Commercial Baby Food
Commercial baby food can be convenient and if using them for a couple of meals a week is going to help you to get by, then it’s totally worth it. Ideally they just wouldn’t be used every day. If you do use them, try to empty the contents into a bowl and use a spoon to feed or let your baby self feed. Avoid them sucking directly from the pouch as they miss out on half the experience by not getting to see, touch or smell the food. The food can also shoot to the back of their throat causing them to choke. And they may develop a preference for these foods if they eat straight from the packet due to the attractive marketing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, commercial baby food can be a convenient option for busy parents, but it's essential to understand both the pros and cons. While it may provide some nutrients, it can also be lacking in others and high in sugar. Additionally, it's generally more expensive than making your own baby food from scratch.
Ultimately, the best choice for your baby will depend on your individual needs and circumstances. If you choose to use commercial baby food, try to do so in moderation and consider offering a variety of homemade foods alongside these.