Food and nutrition.pdf

Young Children and Toddlers 185baby foods to ensure palatability and good nutrition. The protein contentand protein quality of baby foods are far more important than actual meatcontent.Accordingly, manufacturers control the total amount of protein(which may include meat) in their products to supply enough for optimalgrowth and development of infants without straining their kidneys. Theyalso pay attention to the mixture of amino acids in baby foods by using avariety of protein sources including meat, fish, milk, eggs, vegetables andcereals. As a standard practice, manufacturers provide labels showing thepercentage of meat contained in all packets and jars of commercial babyfoods.Genetically Modified lingredients Used in Commercial Baby FoodsAll baby food manufacturers are very sensitive to consumer concernsregarding genetic modification (GM) and consider their concerns whenformulating products. In addition, GM ingredients offer no particularbenefit over traditional foods at present.Infant and Dietetic Foods Association (IDFA) member companies takeall possible steps to ensure that ingredients used in baby foods are notderived from genetically modified crops. Where the potential exists forGM material to be present in ingredients, in soya or maize, for example,companies pur,?hase non-GM, identity-preserved ingredients throughcarefully audited suppliers that have undergone rigorous independenttesting.Organic and Non-organic Baby FoodsManufacturers cannot claim that individual foods are 'organic' unlessan accredited body, such as the Soil Association in Europe, has certifiedthat the ingredients comply with specific standards. The most well knownorganic standard is the restriction on the use of artificial fertilisers andpesticides, which protects most organic foods from containing pesticideresidues.In fact, all baby foods are subject to very strict controls on pesticideresidues as current legislation bans the use of some pesticides and requiresthe level of any other to be below 10 parts per billion. Levels of pesticideresidues in commercial baby foods are consistently very low or notdetectable, whether the foods are labeled organic or not.Additives Used in Commercial Weaning FoodsInfant food manufacturers take a precautionary approach to usingadditives in baby foods. Only those additives that have been shown to beboth safe and required for technological processes are permitted by law.