SCAM

SM

  The Society for Consumer Advocates and Mavens

News You Can Use!

BABY FOOD FILLERS AND ADDITIVES

Some baby food manufacturers may add water and chemically modified, starchy "fillers" to baby food products just to save money on costlier, healthier ingredients like fruits and vegetables. Even the well-known, nationally advertised brand names of baby foods may be suspect at possibly cheating babies out of fruits and vegetables and replacing these with potentially nutritionally inferior ingredients!

Some baby foods may actually be loaded with sugar, water and thickeners instead of nutritious 100% food. The baby food manufacturers may like you to think their commercial baby foods are "specially formulated" and, therefore, necessary for infants. However, sugar, thickeners, starch and flour are not considered by many critics as nutritious. Look for purer brands of baby foods. They do exist.

Also, since pesticide residues may possibly be found on virtually all farm produce, consequently, baby foods may need stricter governmental regulation of pesticide residues in baby food products since infants and young children need wider safety margins compared to adults. The U.S. government's limits and tolerances now in place may be set too low when considering infant and child safety.

SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCES: CONSUMER REPORTS MAGAZINE OCTOBER 1995 and NUTRITION ACTION HEALTH LETTER JUNE 1995

Back