Can My Baby’s Food Have Dangerous Bacteria – How to Detect?

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Babies need right kind of food and nutrition for proper growth and development. And baby foods are the first external nutritional source for the baby. It is interesting to note that these foods are available in wide varieties and the choices are increasing with each passing day. Companies manufacturing baby foods are experimenting with various kinds of combinations so that the baby has foods with varying tastes and gets adequate nutrition as well. There are many factors on which the choice of baby food depends. Age is a major factor along with taste preference of the kid and the nutritional value that he/she needs.

Read More: 51 Insanely Cool Things You can Do with Baby Food Jars

How to Detect from Dangerous Bacteria in Food

Choosing the right ingredients in baby’s foods

Demands of organic baby foods are increasing rapidly in the market. Parents believe that organic baby foods contribute to the child’s health and development in a better and safer manner when compared to general baby foods. Along with the production, the content of the baby food is also an important consideration to be made. Pediatricians suggest that fruits and vegetables should be included in the baby foods as much as possible so that the little one has exposure to these healthy food items from a young age. Baby foods which contain filler ingredients should be avoided as much as possible.

Along with this, it is also important to introduce new tastes and flavors gradually one-by-one. This will help in understanding whether the body of the kid is accepting the ingredients well or not. There are times when some specific ingredients cause allergic and negative reactions in the body. This is the reason, it is best to experiment with single ingredient foods. Using a blend of foods might not let one detect as which particular food item is causing the reaction. Infact pediatricians also recommend feeding the same food for four consecutive days for ensuring that the food is well tolerated by the little one and causes no abdominal problems.

Storing baby food properly

Many people might not know that improper storage can lead to bacterial infestations in the baby food. Till the time the container of baby food is not opened, it is absolutely safe. But the moment the container is opened; one must store it very carefully. The cover should be fastened tightly so that there is no chance of moisture affecting the contents inside. Also there should be no leaks and breaks in the container from where infestations can take place. The spoon used for taking the baby food from the container should be clean and moisture free. Never use the spoon that is used for feeding the baby for taking out baby food from the container. Your baby’s mouth contains various kinds of bacteria and that can get into the baby food container if the same spoon is used.

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Food poisoning in babies

Like adults, babies can also suffer from food poisoning. Infact babies fall in high risk group for food poisoning. The infection can be caused by bacteria, virus or other kinds of microbes. The chances of infections are more in babies as they have weak immune system. However, as they grow up, their immunity system gets better and stronger and they can combat various kinds of diseases successfully.

Some of the most common bacteria and viruses which cause food poisoning in kids include e-coli, salmonella, norovirus and campylobacter bacteria. It is quite difficult to detect with naked eyes whether baby food contains bacteria, virus or other kinds of microbial organisms or not. However, in case you sense that something is not right in the baby food, you can definitely send the product container to a laboratory for testing.

Reasons of food poisoning in babies and kids

There are innumerable causes of food poisoning in babies and kids. While some infections can be from contamination in baby foods in some way; there might be other reasons for the infections as well. One of the most common bacteria that affect kids is the e-coli bacteria. Usually this bacterium contaminates food drastically. Infected or untreated water is also a major source of food poisoning or stomach infections in kids. Playing with toys which has been handled by another infected baby can also lead to transferring of the germs easily and cause food poisoning.

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