By Randall Neustaedter, O.M.D.
Here's The Punchline Make Your Own Baby Food
Here’s a new compelling reason. The
European Food Safety Authority (equivalent to
the FDA) announced that baby food jars contain a
substance known to cause cancer and liver damage.
The chemical, called semicarbazide, is found in the
sealing gaskets of glass jars with metal lids. The
chemical leaches into the foods contained in these
jars. Other foods besides that older children consume
are also contaminated with the chemical (pickles,
jams, fruit juice, and mayonnaise). I have written
before about the increased susceptibility of infants
and children to carcinogens. The US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has drafted an assessment of
cancer risk from toxic exposure in children. Based on
animal studies and the dynamic action of carcinogens,
the report estimates that children under two years of
age are ten times more likely to develop cancer from
exposure to carcinogens than adults, and children
between ages 2 and 15 are three times as likely.
Those types of estimates have led the European
safety community to jump on the potential danger
of baby food jars.
The European Food Authority’s chair, Dr. Sue
Barlow, said, “It would be prudent to reduce
the presence of semicarbazide in baby foods as
swiftly as technological progress allows.”
According to BBC News a joint food and
packaging industry taskforce was formed in
the UK to eliminate semicarbazide from the
metal twist caps used with glass jars.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has
denied any dangers from exposure to the
chemical, advising consumers not to avoid food
packaged in glass jars. “At this time, FDA’s
preliminary conclusion is that the levels of semicarbazide
reported in foods in Europe are very low
and present no risk to the public health,”
the agency said in a statement. Nonetheless,
according to an Associated Press report,
“American manufacturer Heinz, which makes baby
food and other products in jars, said it is already
testing alternative caps and hopes to have new
baby food jars—free of the chemical—on supermarket
shelves worldwide within six months.”
I encourage parents to make their own baby food
from organic vegetables, fruits, grains, and
meats. An excellent book does exist that gives
detailed instructions for home preparation of
foods for children aged 5 months to 3 years
(Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, F.J. Roberts
Publisher, 608 pages, 1998). I agree with most
of her methods except for the use of microwaves
for heating foods, a certain hypervigilance
about microbes, and the early introduction of
cereals. Besides the risk from this specific
chemical exposure, jars of prepared baby
food are lower in vitamin content than
homemade food and much more expensive.
Baby Food News
Here's The Punchline Make Your Own Baby Food
Here’s a new compelling reason. The
European Food Safety Authority (equivalent to
the FDA) announced that baby food jars contain a
substance known to cause cancer and liver damage.
The chemical, called semicarbazide, is found in the
sealing gaskets of glass jars with metal lids. The
chemical leaches into the foods contained in these
jars. Other foods besides that older children consume
are also contaminated with the chemical (pickles,
jams, fruit juice, and mayonnaise). I have written
before about the increased susceptibility of infants
and children to carcinogens. The US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has drafted an assessment of
cancer risk from toxic exposure in children. Based on
animal studies and the dynamic action of carcinogens,
the report estimates that children under two years of
age are ten times more likely to develop cancer from
exposure to carcinogens than adults, and children
between ages 2 and 15 are three times as likely.
Those types of estimates have led the European
safety community to jump on the potential danger
of baby food jars.
The European Food Authority’s chair, Dr. Sue
Barlow, said, “It would be prudent to reduce
the presence of semicarbazide in baby foods as
swiftly as technological progress allows.”
According to BBC News a joint food and
packaging industry taskforce was formed in
the UK to eliminate semicarbazide from the
metal twist caps used with glass jars.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has
denied any dangers from exposure to the
chemical, advising consumers not to avoid food
packaged in glass jars. “At this time, FDA’s
preliminary conclusion is that the levels of semicarbazide
reported in foods in Europe are very low
and present no risk to the public health,”
the agency said in a statement. Nonetheless,
according to an Associated Press report,
“American manufacturer Heinz, which makes baby
food and other products in jars, said it is already
testing alternative caps and hopes to have new
baby food jars—free of the chemical—on supermarket
shelves worldwide within six months.”
I encourage parents to make their own baby food
from organic vegetables, fruits, grains, and
meats. An excellent book does exist that gives
detailed instructions for home preparation of
foods for children aged 5 months to 3 years
(Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, F.J. Roberts
Publisher, 608 pages, 1998). I agree with most
of her methods except for the use of microwaves
for heating foods, a certain hypervigilance
about microbes, and the early introduction of
cereals. Besides the risk from this specific
chemical exposure, jars of prepared baby
food are lower in vitamin content than
homemade food and much more expensive.
Baby Food News
