What to Look for in Store-Bought Baby Food

Between the easy make-your-own baby food advice out there, the newfangled baby meal subscription services, and all of the baby food jars and pouches that overcrowd grocery aisles, there are plenty of healthy and nutritious options to feed your baby these days. Relief! But it is still pretty daunting to figure out which baby food is best for your baby. For help on the store-bought baby food front, look no further! Here, our guide to buying the best store-bought baby food for your little one.

Baby Food Buying Guide Tip No. 1: Know the deal with heavy metals in baby food.

It is downright terrifying to read headlines about heavy metals found in store-bought baby food. The Food Standard Agency (FSA) frequently carries out surveys of infant diets to evaluate likely exposure from contaminants, including heavy metals and would not allow unsafe product to remain on the market. The levels of heavy metals found in baby food are low. And a 2022 study concluded that the heavy metals in baby food are unlikely to put your baby’s health at risk. Still, no one wants to feed their little one mercury, lead, cadmium, and arsenic along with their pureed peas and carrots!

To lower your baby’s risk of too much heavy metal exposure, be sure to offer a wide variety of food and avoid serving your baby rice cereal. Not only do rice products often contain high levels of arsenic, there is actually no need to feed your baby this classic first food. There are so many other grains out there that are low in heavy metals, high in fiber, and simply better for Baby than rice cereal, like barley, quinoa, and oatmeal.

Baby Food Buying Guide Tip No. 2: Get familiar with the baby food labels.