Why You Shouldn’t Buy Your Baby Food in the Baby Food Aisle

You’ve made it through your first few months as a mama, and yay!, it’s finally time to start baby on solid food. So you head on over to the baby food aisle, excitedly envisioning your first Instagram post of cute baby cheeks smeared in puree. But, whoa, there’s a lot of choices in this baby food aisle! And whoa, there’s a lot of weird ingredients you’ve never heard of!

Back away from the baby food aisle, mama, and head on down to the cooler temps. Because the future of baby food is happening in the refrigerated section of your supermarket.

We’re talking about high pressure pasteurization (HPP), the newest craze in baby food production. Brands like Pure Spoon are using this chemical-free, heat-free technology to pasteurize purees in a way that keeps them true to the color, texture and taste of the ingredients. HPP also allows purees to maintain all of the nutrients they had when their ingredients were harvested, so your baby’s food is as fresh, nutritious and tasty as it would be if you had made it yourself… if you only had the time.

Sure, the baby food aisle has come a long way — there’s new, organic options that weren’t there when you were a baby. Still, big box baby food brands need to create a shelf stable product so their jars or packets last longer in the supermarket. And shelf stability comes at a cost.

In order to create a longer shelf life, companies use preservatives like citric acid, which, even in small amounts, can exacerbate symptoms in babies with acid reflux. Other strategies to extend shelf life include heat pasteurization, or bringing baby food to a high temperature for a long period of time. Unfortunately, long exposure to high temperatures can destroy the cells of the ingredients, depleting their nutrients and changing their color and texture into something less than desirable.

The high pressure pasteurization method keeps your baby’s food safe while maintaining the integrity of the ingredients. Here’s how it works: Pure Spoon purees their product by hand, in a certified organic, vegan and gluten-free kitchen. It then places the puree in a flexible container, submerges it in water, and pressurizes the water. The pressurization kills any type of bacteria that can cause foodborne illness or cause the food to spoil too quickly.

And that’s where the refrigerator comes in: foods that are pasteurized using HPP need to stay cold. Which is pretty much what you’d be doing with your own baby food if you had the time and luxury to make it yourself, right?

We know, we know: sometimes it’s easier to buy in bulk when you’re a mama….so how long can this HPP-stuff hang in your fridge? Pure Spoon recommends you use their certified organic purees within 90 days of pasteurization, and trust us, with the fast-changing palettes of your little one, that’s plenty of time. You can also freeze them, and thaw as needed.

What, your grocery store hasn’t caught up with the future of baby food yet? Pure Spoon also sells on Amazon.com or directly through purespoon.com, a la carte or via subscription services. Talk about the future of baby food.

Give Pure Spoon a try and get 15% off with code WELL15.

SHOP PURE SPOON HERE

*This post was sponsored by Pure Spoon.