Food Quality & Safety

Highest Standards Graphic

 

The health and safety of your children is at the heart of what we do.

We know moms, dads, and caregivers depend on our commitment to safety and quality to help keep their children thriving. As parents ourselves, we are proud to feed our own children Beech-Nut products and have taken the responsibility to provide safe, nutritious food as our highest purpose for over 130 years.

We understand the recent Congressional Report and news stories have been unsettling to parents. We must continue to reduce heavy metal contaminants and continue developing science-based standards for limiting heavy metals found in baby food ingredients—In fact, for several years, Beech-Nut have worked with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, through the Baby Food Council, on this very issue.

On March 5, 2021, the FDA issued an update to provide parents and caregivers information about the safety of current baby food and the importance of serving a variety of healthy foods to infants and toddlers. Here are some key takeaways from this FDA update that may address your biggest questions: 

  • Is my baby’s food safe?  Yes, the food is safe. The FDA regulates and routinely monitors levels of heavy metals in all foods. If the FDA finds that any foods pose a health risk, it takes steps to remove those foods from the market.
  • Is homemade baby food safer for my baby?  Making food at home for your child likely does not reduce his or her potential exposure to metals. Rather, it may result in higher exposures, as the ingredients you use are not tested. Food manufacturers implement sophisticated testing tools & procedures that help detect & select ingredients with lower concentrations of elements, such as heavy metals.
  • Should I throw out Beech-Nut baby food?  The FDA does not advise parents and caregivers to throw out packaged foods for babies and young children.
  • Should I eliminate certain foods from my child’s diet?  The FDA advises that eliminating food groups from your child’s diet could lead to deficiencies in certain nutrients and potential poor health outcomes. Before eliminating any food items, parents and caregivers should speak with their child’s pediatrician about a diet that includes a variety of age-appropriate, healthy foods to ensure that the child is getting the nutrients he or she needs.
  • Where do heavy metals come from? Heavy metals are found naturally in our environment. They are in the soil, the water, the air—and are therefore unavoidable in our general food supply.

Our Testing Legacy

We start by carefully choosing high quality fruits and vegetables, sourcing from the purest, cleanest produce available. Unfortunately, contaminants persist in our environment and appear in our food supply—even in the fruits and vegetables you buy at the store or farmers’ market.

We’ve been testing our ingredients for contaminants, such as heavy metals and pesticides, since 1985. Beech-Nut prides itself on its partnerships with farmers to help ensure they understand, and can meet, the level of quality we require. We continuously improve our food safety and quality standards based on the most up-to-date, scientific technology. We also regularly seek guidance from sources, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

 

Our associate, Kasha, quality testing baby food in our lab.

Our Testing Associate, Kasha, in our Amsterdam, NY lab facility.

 

Going above and beyond standard:

The Baby Food Council Partnership

The EPA, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other government bodies set baseline standards for limits on pesticides and organic certification. Yet, our pesticide standards are the same or stricter than government requirements.

In 2019, Beech-Nut co-founded The Baby Food Council to create science-based standards for reducing levels of heavy metals in food products to as low as reasonably achievable, using best-in-class management techniques. Other members of The Baby Food Council include government agencies, industry experts, advocacy groups, Cornell University, and major baby food companies. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is a technical advisor to the Council.