The ingredients in baby food vary primarily depending on the age of the child for whom it is intended and whether it is a wet or dry food. Other significant factors affecting the ingredients include whether the product is a commercially distributed product versus an organic baby food brand with a limited product run. Baby food ingredients in traditional supermarket brands include a mix of fruits and vegetables, as well as sugar compounds like maltodextrin, starches, and fixative agents or gums. While all types of baby food are supposed to be free of harmful compounds, many contain pesticide residues and ingredients that have been genetically modified.
Initially, baby food for four-month-olds is limited in variety and consists primarily of dried rice that is mixed with milk or water. This is used to supplement baby formula or breast milk until the baby is six months old, at which point they can eat a variety of pureed and mashed foods, as well as wet canned or jarred baby food. Starch compounds, which are used to bind ingredients together and thicken them, are found in up to 40% of wet foods. Because starch absorbs water and binds to it, starch and added sugar account for nearly half of the baby food ingredients in some jars, making the product less expensive to manufacture and providing a more filling effect for the child.
Organic labels are more likely to provide healthy baby food that is free of the questionable ingredients found in large commercial runs. Organic foods’ ingredients include organic fruits, vegetables, and grains, as well as organically raised meat. The manufacturers claim that there is no added sugar or artificial ingredients, and that the entire contents is 100 percent natural. Pesticide and fertilizer residues, as well as preservatives, genetically modified grains, and other altered baby food ingredients, are all absent. Organic baby food ingredients frequently include added organic sugars to enhance flavor and reduce cost, so just because a label says it’s organic doesn’t mean it’s completely healthy.
Fruit juice is a common ingredient in baby food because it appears to be healthy on the label and is a low-cost way to add sugar to the product. Despite government restrictions on the allowed limits, pesticide residues can still be found in many baby foods. A 2010 Australian investigation of baby food ingredients discovered that a US manufacturer was using genetically modified soy at 0.2 percent by volume. While this is legal, a Russian study found that such concentrations in the diet of rats and hamsters caused damage to organs such as the liver and kidneys, as well as harming reproductive health. Since food labeling laws in Australia were relatively lax as of 2010, it is believed that multinational food producers have taken advantage of such loopholes to sell products that would be prohibited elsewhere.
In the United States, ingredients for baby food marketed to children older than six months have been found to contain high levels of thickening agents. Flour and a variety of starch compounds are among these agents, which are fillers used to reduce the cost of adding more real fruits and vegetables to the products. Because American children are fed far more jarred baby food than homemade food, the baby food market in the United States is estimated to be worth $1,250,000,000 US Dollars (USD) per year and growing. By the age of one, an infant in the United States will have consumed 600 jars of baby food, compared to 240 jars for a typical European child at the same age and only 12 jars for a child in an eastern European country like Poland.