Baby food safety

How to ensure the safety of what you feed to your baby

• Always wash hands before preparing baby's food.
• Sterilize bottles, nipples, rings, caps, and pacifiers in the dishwasher.
• Throw out leftover breast milk or formula after a feeding to avoid baby's saliva contaminating the milk with bacteria.
• Check expiration dates on the baby food jar labels.
• Make sure button on lid is down and pops when open the first time.
• Read label for ingredients and the addition of unwanted items. 
• Spoon out a portion of baby food into a dish with clean spoon (saliva breeds bacteria). Refrigerate properly and use veggies and meats within 2 days, fruits within 3 days. Unopened jars of baby food can be stored safely for one year. 
• Reheat food only once. Do not heat food in plastic containers in microwave; use glass.
• Cover all food and beverages airtight and securely.
• Keep pets away from food and food preparation surfaces.
• While raw honey must never be given to children under 1, processed foods containing honey (such as honey flavored graham crackers) are fine.

Adapted from Nurturing with Nutrition by Dr. Melanie Bezarte and Lucille Beseler, RDN