Organic Baby Food: What Advantages Does It Bring?

Of course, every parent, when faced with the question of choosing baby food, will prefer the most useful and quality products, believing that the health of his child directly depends on these characteristics. However, with all the variety of baby food presented on the shelves of modern stores, is it so easy to choose really useful and safe products? And how useful is organic baby food?

Natural or Organic?

Nowadays the question of what products we buy and eat is very acute: where and from what raw materials were they produced? Were fertilizers and pesticides used in the cultivation of plant crops? The concept of “natural product” has become very valuable.

However, buyers and manufacturers often understand this term quite differently. Surely, most of us, seeing the word “natural” on the label, imagining 100% vegetable or animal ingredients placed in a package with a complete (or almost complete) absence of food chemistry — dyes, flavors, improvers, etc.

However, the term “natural product” can be interpreted quite differently by many manufacturers. And therefore, the presence of this phrase on the packaging does not guarantee the absence of chemical additives in its contents. Therefore, picky buyers have found a way out, buying products that are not just natural, but organic – because, unlike the term “natural product,” the term “organic product” is clearly regulated.

Organic Food – What is it?

Perhaps the main difference of organic products from all others is strict requirements not only for the quality of their ingredients or production technology but also for the conditions in which the raw materials for their production were obtained. In particular:

1. Production of raw materials for organic products should be carried out in natural conditions and in environmentally friendly regions – far from large cities, industrial zones and highways.
2. In the vegetable cultivation only genetically unmodified varieties and uninsulated seeds can be used. At the same time, plants grow naturally, without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, growth stimulants and protection against diseases. Ultrasound, mechanical traps and natural biological enemies should be used to control pests.
3. Animals are kept in nature, receive natural food, characteristic of their species. The use of concentrated feed, hormones, antibiotics, growth stimulants, etc. is strictly prohibited.
4. The absence of any artificial additives – flavors, dyes, emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives, etc. is guaranteed in the finished product
5. Production of organic food has a mandatory phased certification and is subject to mandatory quality control.

How to Determine Whether the Product is Organic or Not?

To obtain the status of “organic”, the relevant products undergo strict quality control “from grain to counter” in accordance with the European Union regulations on organic production and labeling of organic products. In this case, the control is carried out both by the laboratories of the manufacturer itself and by authorized state services.

Products that have successfully passed the entire range of inspections receive a special certificate, and a special ORGANIC sign is applied to its packaging.

Why is Organic Baby Food Important?

The fact is that the organism of children of the first years of life is very susceptible to various toxins and allergens, in the role of which it is often precisely chemical food additives. It is not without reason that scientists associate the increase in the incidence of children over the last century precisely with changes in the diet and the abundant inclusion of chemical components.

Obviously, since the building material for all organs and tissues of the human body is the food we consume, our health is directly dependent on its quality. This means that eating one or another food is not only a matter of momentary satiety but also proper development and good health for the long term. That’s why organic baby food is of great importance.

Where To Get Organic Food?

There are, in general, two options:

1. Have your own farm. That is, keep animals and independently grow vegetables and fruits, to be able to control the quality of food and soil and not apply any chemistry to accelerate the growth of plants and their protection from disease. Still, keep in mind that all this is not a guarantee that the final product will be organic. It can be too difficult to meet all the necessary conditions for this.
2. Buy organic certified products. Such products are rarely sold in regular stores and supermarkets, so they are easier to find in a pharmacy or online stores.

In conclusion, it remains to add that in addition to the absence of harmful substances, organic products are distinguished by their taste properties and higher nutritional value. On average, organic products contain 50% more vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and biologically active substances compared to products produced by traditional technologies. Moreover, due to the peculiarities of organic agricultural production, the content of dry substances in fruits and vegetable increases, while the water content decreases. As a result, it improves the taste qualities of organic food.

Benefits

Thanks to the special production technologies, organic baby food turns out to have more amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Thus, the composition and taste of organic baby food are much better and richer. All of the above fully applies to organic meat, which, with a bright and balanced taste, is completely devoid of antibiotics, growth hormones, and other traces of medicine and chemistry.

Organic juices also have their advantages: the minimal use of heat and pressure in organic production allows them to retain a maximum of vitamins and minerals. As a result, organic juices for children have a higher nutritional value and better taste than traditional ones.

Thus, organic baby food is a rare case when “healthy” doesn’t mean “tasteless”. It’s not surprising that many children prefer it. But it is also important that organic baby food not only gives babies new taste sensations and enriches their diet, but also forms the right taste habits for them, creating the basis for a future healthy lifestyle.