Baby food is any soft, easily consumed food other than breastmilk or infant formula that is made specifically for human babies between six months and two years old. The food comes in many varieties and flavors that are purchased ready-made from producers, or it may be table food eaten by the family that has been mashed or otherwise broken down.
Readiness and health
Readiness
As of 2023, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and many national health agencies recommended waiting until six months of age before starting a child on food.
In Italy in 2020, a survey of parents found that more than two-thirds of babies were first fed baby food when they were five or six months old. A survey in Scotland in 2017 indicated that almost no babies were fed baby food before the age of four months, and that about half of them were not given baby food until they were at least six months old.
Inappropriately early introduction of baby food (i.e., before the baby is at least four months old) was associated with the family being concerned that the baby's hunger was not satisfied by breastmilk alone. delaying the introduction of potentially allergenic foods, such as peanuts, beyond six months provides no health benefit. It also increases the risk of choking (inability to breathe due to food stuck in the airway), strain on the kidneys, and gastroenteritis (a painful inflammation of the gut that can cause vomiting and diarrhea). Experts advising the World Health Assembly have provided evidence that introducing solids earlier than six months increases babies' chances of illness, without improving growth.
One of the health concerns associated with the introduction of solid foods before six months is iron deficiency. The early introduction of complementary foods may satisfy the hunger of the infant, resulting in less frequent breastfeeding and ultimately less milk production in the mother. Because iron absorption from human milk is depressed when the milk is in contact with other foods in the proximal small bowel, early use of complementary foods may increase the risk of iron depletion and anemia.
If there is a family history of allergies, one may wish to introduce only one new food at a time, leaving a few days in between to notice any reactions that would indicate a food allergy or sensitivity. This way, if the child is unable to tolerate a certain food, it can be determined which food is causing the reaction.
Meeting the nutritional needs of infants as they grow is essential for their healthy development. Feeding infants inappropriately or insufficiently can cause major illnesses and affect their physical and mental development.
As shown in the 2008 Feeding Infants and Toddlers study, the overall diet of babies and toddlers, the primary consumers of baby food, generally meets or significantly exceeds the recommended amount of macronutrients. Toddlers and preschoolers generally ate too little dietary fiber, and preschoolers generally ate too much saturated fat, although the overall fat intake was lower than recommended. Homemade food is appropriate only when the family has a sufficient and varied diet, as well as access to refrigeration and basic sanitation. Adults who hold this opinion often stop offering new foods to the child after only three to five attempts, rather than continuing to offer the food until the child has tasted it eight to fifteen times. They may also engage in counterproductive behaviors, such as offering appetite-suppressing milk or other favorite foods as an alternative, or trying to force or bribe the child into eating.
Types
Through the first year, breastmilk or infant formula is the main source of calories and nutrients. By six months old, infants are ready to be introduced to table food.
Babies may be started directly on normal family food if attention is given to choking hazards; this is called baby-led weaning. Because breastmilk takes on the flavor of foods eaten by the mother, these foods are especially good choices.
Food type
thumb|upright|A small jar of pureed plums. A baby who is just beginning to eat baby food might not swallow even one small spoonful.
;Cereals
: On a typical day about half of American babies aged four and five months old are fed infant cereal. The baby may have eaten as little as one small bite of infant cereal, or even as little as one small bite of a food that contains infant cereal mixed with other foods. Other types of grain-based foods are rare at that age. About 90% of babies aged six to twelve months eat some type of grain, although only half eat infant cereal. The others eat rice, bread, crackers, pasta, or cereal designed for older children. As with all of these, this may represent as little as one small bite of fruit or a food partly composed of fruit. Two-thirds of babies aged six to nine months, and between 75% and 85% of babies and toddlers older than nine months, eat some type of fruit. At age six to nine months, half of the babies are eating prepared baby food fruits, but toddlers aged 12 months and older primarily eat non-baby food fruits, such as fresh bananas or canned fruits. Apple and bananas are common fruits for babies of all ages. Fruit juice, primarily apple and grape juice, is usually introduced later than fruit, and about half of older babies and toddlers drink some type of 100% fruit juice.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Baby's first foods in different countries
!Region
!Country
!First food
!Age at first food (months)
!Feeding methods
|-
|Africa
|Nigeria (Yoruba people)
|eko, a liquid pap from sorghum or maize (corn)
|6
|The pap is held in the mother's cupped hand and poured into the baby's mouth. The mother may force-feed the baby if the baby resists swallowing it.
|-
|Africa
|Tanzania (Wagogo people)
|uji, a thin millet gruel
|3 to 4
|Uji is drunk from a cup or gourd.
|-
|Africa
|Mali
|porridge or gruel made of millet or rice, perhaps with fish or potatoes
|7 for girls and 10 for boys
|Children feed themselves, with their right hands, from a bowl.
|-
|Africa
|Zimbabwe
|bota, a pap made from ground corn meal
|3 or earlier
|The mother or caregiver feeds the baby with a cup or spoon.
|-
|South America
|Brazil
|cornstarch and other grains
|4
|Powdered milk was often given to newborns before 3 months of age. After 6 months, most babies ate beans and rice or whatever the family ate. Adult foods were broken into small bits and fed from the mother's hand.
|-
|South America
|Guatemala
|Incaparina or cornmeal gruel, eggs, and fruit juice
|4 to 6
|Mothers normally chose suitable food from among what the family was eating. Cornmeal gruel was often given in a bottle.
|-
|South America
|Peru
|Wheat and potato soup
|6 to 8
|Children were normally allowed to feed themselves, unless they were ill. Urban children were given solid foods sooner than rural children.
|-
|South America
|Dominican Republic
|Orange juice, lime juice, beans
|3
|Powdered milk was often given to newborns before 1 month of age. Milk and juice were usually given in a bottle. Fruits and vegetables were usually introduced before meat and beans, and grains were usually last.
|-
|Asia
|Bhutan
|porridge of rice flour or maize, cooked with butter
|2
|Babies are fed from their mother's hands.
|-
|Asia
|Bangladesh
|finger foods, rice, or rice-like foods
|
|The amount of solid food given to the babies is usually very small, but happened several times each day. The food is usually held in the caregiver's hands, but a bottle, cup, or spoon may be used.
|-
|Asia
|Nepal
|grains
|6
|Mothers pre-chewed grains that they were cooking for the rest of the family, mixed them with water or butter, and used their fingers to put the food in their baby's' mouth. Babies in Hindu families were fed rice at the age of 3 weeks in the celebration of Annaprashana, but did not regularly eat food until later. Many mothers work on farms, and the introduction of solid foods often happened at the start of busy agricultural times.
|-
|Asia
|Philippines
|lugao (a rice porridge), mashed fruits or vegetables, or soft bread
|3 to 6
|Bottle-feeding was perceived as having a higher social status. Mothers rejected fibrous foods such as pineapple and maize because of a belief that babies could not digest these foods easily.
|-
|Oceania
|Papua New Guinea
|mashed papaya, sweet potato, pumpkin, and banana
|6 to 12
|Water, vegetable broth and peeled sugar cane were given to young infants as an extra source of fluids. Liquids were given in a bowl, cup, or bamboo straw. Taro and meat were withheld until the baby was about a year old. Traditionally, babies were not given solid foods until they could walk.
|-
|Oceania
|Solomon Islands (Kwaio people)
|Pre-chewed taro with water or sweet potato cooked in coconut milk
|0 to 9
|Practices among the Kwaio people were divided by religious tradition. Many pagan mothers, who adhere to traditional food taboos, began feeding their babies solid foods within 1 to 2 months after birth; they thoroughly chew the food and feed it mouth-to-mouth for the first few months. This was also a common practice for feeding a hungry baby if the mother was temporarily unavailable. Sukuru (a tradition related to Christian colonizers) mothers usually began feeding solid foods between 6 and 9 months. Some fed babies mouth-to-mouth; others pre-chewed, boiled, or mashed the food and gave it to the baby in a spoon or the baby's hand.
|-
|Oceania
|Trobriand Islands
|soup, then mashed or pre-chewed yams or taro
|1
|In the 1970s and 1980s, some women followed traditional post-partum practices that placed the mother and baby in seclusion, in a dark building with a fire. Foods were considered kanua (e.g., taro or breastmilk) and kawenu (e.g., wild vegetables or commercial infant formula). Foods that were considered kanua were preferred for babies.
|-
|North America
|United States
|Infant cereal, then pureed fruits or vegetables
|2 to 6
|Cereal was mixed with infant formula and given in a bottle, or fed to the baby with a spoon. Poor women began feeding solid foods much earlier than wealthier women.
|}
Toddler foods
Some commercial baby food companies have expanded their lines to produce specialty foods for toddlers from the age of about 12 months to two and a half years old.
Historical and cultural
thumb|A Hindu child receives their first solid food in a religious ceremony called [[Annaprashana]]Baby food varies from culture to culture. In many cultures, pastes of a grain and liquids are the first baby food. In human history and presently with many cultures around the world, babies are fed food premasticated by the caretaker of the baby in order to pulverise the food and start the digestion process.
In the Western world until the mid-1900s, baby food was generally made at home. The industrial revolution saw the beginning of the baby food market which promoted commercial baby foods as convenience items. In developed countries, babies are now often started with commercially produced iron-fortified infant cereals,
Commercially prepared baby foods in the Netherlands were first prepared by Martinus van der Hagen through his NV Nutricia company in 1901. In United States they were first prepared by Harold Clapp who sold Clapp's Baby Food in the 1920s. The Fremont Canning Company, now called the Gerber Products Company, started in 1927. The Beech-Nut company entered the U.S. baby food market in 1931. The first precooked dried baby food was Pablum which was originally made for sick children in the 1930s. Other commercial baby food manufacturers include H. J. Heinz Company, Nestlé, Nutricia, Organix and Unilever. Heinz produced dehydrated baby food in the 1980s. The demand from parents for organic food began to grow in the 1960s; since then, many larger commercial manufacturers have introduced organic lines of infant food.
At the beginning of the 20th century in America, most babies began eating baby food around the age of seven months.
In Sweden, it is common to start with mashed fruit, such as bananas, as well as oatmeal and mashed vegetables.
In western Africa, maize porridge is often the first solid food given to young children.
An infant's first bite of solid food is ceremonial and holds religious importance in many cultures. An example of this is annaprashan, a Hindu ritual where the infant is fed a sweetened rice porridge, usually blessed, by an elder family member. Similar rites of passage are practiced in other Hindu areas, including the Bengal region, Vietnam, and Thailand.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ First foods in different cultures
! Region
! Country
! First food
! Age at first food (months)
! Feeding methods
|-
| Africa
| Nigeria (Yoruba people)
| eko, a liquid pap from sorghum or maize
| 6
| The pap is held in the mother's cupped hand and poured into the baby's mouth. The mother may force-feed the baby if the baby resists swallowing it.
|-
| Africa
| Tanzania (Wagogo people)
| uji, a thin millet gruel
| 3 to 4
| Uji is drunk from a cup or gourd.
|-
| Africa
| Mali
| porridge or gruel made of millet or rice, perhaps with fish or potatoes
| 7 for girls and 10 for boys
| Children feed themselves, with their right hands, from a bowl.
|-
| Africa
| Zimbabwe
| bota, a pap made from ground corn meal
| 3 or earlier
| The mother or caregiver feeds the baby with a cup or spoon.
|-
| South America
| Brazil
| cornstarch and other grains
| 4
| Powdered milk was often given to newborns before 3 months of age. After 6 months, most babies ate beans and rice or whatever the family ate. Adult foods were broken into small bits and fed from the mother's hand.
|-
| South America
| Guatemala
| cornmeal or Incaparina gruel, eggs, and fruit juice
| 4 to 6
| Mothers normally chose suitable food from among what the family was eating. Cornmeal gruel was often given in a bottle.
|-
| South America
| Peru
| wheat and potato soup
| 6 to 8
| Children were normally allowed to feed themselves, unless they were ill. Urban children were given solid foods sooner than rural children.
|-
| South America
| Dominican Republic
| orange juice, lime juice, beans
| 3
| Powdered milk was often given to newborns before 1 month of age. Milk and juice were usually given in a bottle. Fruits and vegetables were usually introduced before meat and beans, and grains were usually last.
|-
| Asia
| Bhutan
| porridge of rice flour or maize, cooked with butter
| 2
| Babies are fed from their mother's hands.
|-
| Asia
| Bangladesh
| dry finger foods, rice or rice-like foods
| 4
| The food is held in the caregiver's hands. Babies were given very small amounts of solid food multiple times each day.
|-
| Asia
| Nepal
| grains
| 6
| Mothers pre-chewed grains that they were cooking for the rest of the family, mixed them with water or butter, and used their fingers to put the food in their baby's' mouth. Babies in Hindu families were fed rice at the age of 3 weeks in the celebration of Annaprashana ( in Nepal Pasni), but did not regularly eat food until later. Many start with rice porridge (jaulo) and powdered cereals porridge(lito). Many mothers work on farms, and the introduction of solid foods often happened at the start of busy agricultural times.
|-
| Asia
| Philippines
| lugao (a rice porridge), mashed fruits or vegetables, or soft bread
| 3 to 6
|
|-
| Oceania
| Papua New Guinea
| mashed papaya, sweet potato, pumpkin, and banana <td role="note"> 6 to 12 </td>
| Water, vegetable broth and peeled sugar cane were given to young infants as an extra source of fluids. Liquids were given in a bowl, cup, or bamboo straw. Taro and meat were withheld until the baby was about a year old. Traditionally, babies were not given solid foods until they could walk.
|-
| Oceania
| Solomon Islands
| pre-chewed taro with water or sweet potato cooked in coconut milk
| 0 to 9
| Many mothers began feeding their babies solid foods within 1 to 2 months after birth; they thoroughly chew the food and feed it mouth-to-mouth for the first few months. This was also a common practice for feeding a hungry baby if the mother was temporarily unavailable. Sukuru mothers usually began feeding solid foods between 6 and 9 months. Some fed babies mouth-to-mouth; others pre-chewed, boiled, or mashed the food and gave it to the baby in a spoon or the baby's hand.
|-
| Oceania
| Trobriand Islands
| soup, then mashed or pre-chewed yams or taro
| 1
|
|-
| North America
| USA
| infant cereal, and later pureed fruits or vegetables
| 2 to 6
| Cereal was mixed with infant formula and given in a bottle, or fed to the baby with a spoon. Poor women began feeding solid foods much earlier than wealthier women.
|}
Market
According to Zion Market Research, the market size for baby food in the United States is estimated to be $53 billion in 2018 and growing to $76 billion by 2021.
Commercial baby food in the United States is dominated by Gerber, which had about 70% of the American market share in 1996. Over the decades, there have been multiple recalls of baby foods because of concerns about contamination or spoilage. In 1984 and 1986, Gerber was involved in a scandal over glass baby food jars breaking in transit, which dramatically affected its sales and profitability, although the US Food and Drug Administration later concluded that the company was not at fault.
Pesticides
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is required by law to ensure that pesticide residues do not harm babies and children. Almost 40% of baby foods sold in stores in the U.S. contain toxic pesticides, according to a 2023 study by the Environmental Working Group, an American non-profit environmental research and advocacy organization. The most common pesticide residues found in the baby foods were acetamiprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide that is known to be harmful to humans and bees, and captan, a fungicide of the phthalimide class that has been correlated to cancer. None of the organic baby foods tested in the same study were found to contain pesticides.
See also
- Breastfeeding
- Breastmilk
- Infant formula
- Pablum
- International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes
- Nestlé boycott
- Organic Baby Products
References
External links
CDC
- Foods and Drinks for 6 to 24 Month Olds
- When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods
- How Much and How Often To Feed
- Choking Hazards
- Foods and Drinks to Encourage
- Foods and Drinks to Avoid or Limit
- Tastes and Textures
- Cow's Milk and Milk Alternatives
- Picky Eaters and What to Do
- About Infant and Toddler Nutrition
- Vitamins and Minerals
NHS
- Your baby's first solid foods
- Help your baby enjoy new foods
- Baby and toddler meal ideas
- Children's food: safety and hygiene
- Drinks and cups for babies and young children
- Food allergies in babies and young children
- Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- Fussy eaters
- Vitamins for children
- What to feed young children
- Young children and food: common questions
Other
- Introducing solid foods: What you need to know from the Mayo Clinic.
- Global Baby Food Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape, and Trends Analysis Report