Keep Your Baby's Food Safe

When preparing food, parents are often careful to ensure that the foods they choose are healthy and appropriate for our babies. But many of overlook the suitability of the pots we're cooking in or using to serve their baby’s food.  Many do not know that cookware made from certain materials may not be ideal for the preparation of baby food.

• Plastic bowls can off-gas toxins into hot foods or when used in a microwave oven. 
• Unlined or uninsulated copper pots can destroy both vitamins C and E and the folic acid in the food. And acidic foods cooked in copper pots can contain toxic levels of copper.
• Acidic foods cooked in aluminum pots can dissolve very small quantities of aluminum, which can then be absorbed into the food.
• Stainless steel cookware is made up of a mixture of different metals. It is generally considered to be very safe.
• Avoid cooking non-stick pans because the coating may chip off and end up in the food. It is also believed that toxic fumes can be released by heating a non-stick pan to a very high temperature.

No one knows exactly how hazardous these types of cookware can be.  The existing research is inconclusive. Some experts think that the risk is very low, or that only people who are sensitive to certain materials will react unfavorably.  But what would be considered a small risk to an adult may be significant to a baby.  It is probably a good idea to look into safer cookware alternatives.