Gerber Vegetable Beef Ingredients 2nd Foods

Information updated July 2021 and October 2021

POTENTIAL BABY FOOD TOXICITY: There is significant, current and scary data regarding the presence of ingredients which are not on any ingredient labels >> the toxic components which have seeped into almost all of the manufactured foods + beverages we consume and, by definition, most mass-produced baby foods. This September 29, 2021 report includes several brands including Gerber Baby Foods:

Here is additional information on toxins in many Baby Foods from Healthy Babies Bright Futures:

GERBER BABY FOODS is owned by Switzerland-based Nestlé.

Here's a statement from the Nestlé Corporate Web site:

"We believe in the power of food to enhance quality of life. We constantly explore and aim to push the boundaries of what is possible with food, beverage and nutritional health solutions to contribute to a healthier future."

With that declaration from Nestlé in mind, let's look at what's in the Nestlé-owned #1 Baby Food in the U.S., Gerber. (Source for Brand ranking: Statista 2021)

STARTING WITH HOMEMADE: For easy means of comparison to Gerber and other manufactured Baby Foods, here is a quick look at what ingredients are in homemade Baby Foods >> any ingredient not in homemade Baby Foods is designated as Not In Kitchen™ >> these are ingredients we would never use at home to make Baby Foods.

Homemade Baby Foods include real and whole foods alone or in combination including Fruits, Veggies, Grains, Fish+Fowl+Beef and possibly Dairy. Although some of these ingredients contain Naturally-occurring Sugars, there is no Added Sugar in homemade Baby Food, so Sugar is designated as an ingredient which is Not In Kitchen™ as we look at these Baby Foods.

Our goal is to find manufactured Baby Foods which are Closest To Homemade™ >> whose ingredients are closest to those we would use at home to make any given item.

ALMOST ALL OF NESTLE GERBER BABY FOODS CONTAIN INGREDIENTS Not In Kitchen™: Many Nestlé Gerber products contain FDA-recognized Chemical Preservatives including Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid and Mixed Tocopherols. (Sources: Nestlé Gerber Web site 7/21; FDA 2021)

Unless specifically noted as 'Naturally-occurring Citric Acid, Manufactured Citric Acid is made in a laboratory utilizing Aspergillus niger, a.k.a. Black Mold. (Source: National Library of Medicine U.S. Institutes of Health)

Learn more about potential reactions to Manufactured Citric Acid from a study — Potential role of the common food additive manufactured citric acid in eliciting significant inflammatory reactions contributing to serious disease states: A series of four case report s

From the study:

"Citric acid naturally exists in fruits and vegetables. However, it is not the naturally occurring citric acid, but the manufactured citric acid (MCA) that is used extensively as a food and beverage additive. Approximately 99% of the world's production of MCA is carried out using the fungus Aspergillus niger since 1919. Aspergilus niger is a known allergen."

The conclusion of this study is:

"We cannot conclusively affirm that Manufactured Citric Acid is the causative factor in the subjects' inflammatory symptoms. However, our findings demonstrate a significant likelihood that MCA may be the culprit and are suggestive of valid concerns which warrant proper double blind studies to determine presence or absence of harm."

Source: National Library of Medicine U.S. Institutes of Health

The greater issue of concern is Accumulation >> it wouldn't necessarily be a big deal if we consumed these Chemical Preservatives once in a while, but they are pervasive, especially in leading brands which tend to be from the biggest food companies. Check your pantry and fridge for just Citric Acid and you may be shocked by what you find. Click here to learn more about the study:

Seen below, NESTLE GERBER CHICKEN & CARROT RAVIOLI IS BANNED AT WHOLE FOODS. Whole Foods cites certain ingredients as "Unacceptable in food" including Bleached Flours and there is Bleached Wheat Flour in this Nestlé Gerber Toddler Food. (Source for banned ingredients: Whole Foods Web site 7/21)

THROUGH THE NOT IN KITCHEN™ FILTER, THESE INGREDIENTS ARE IDENTIFIED IN NESTLE GERBER CHICKEN & CARROT RAVIOLI: Sugar, Bleached Wheat Flour, Soybean Oil, Carrageenan, Maltodextrin, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Dextrose, Flavor, Chicken Flavor, Tapioca Dextrin, Dehydrated Carrots, Modified Cornstarch and Modified Potato Starch.

NOTE: The FDA does not allow products which contain the ingredient in this Nestlé Gerber product — Autolyzed Yeast Extract — to say 'No MSG' on the package front because they both contain potentially harmful Glutamates.

Many food manufacturers have switched from using MSG — which has considerable negative consumer attitudes and awareness — to seemingly less innocuous options for Taste Enhancers which naturally contain MSG such as Autolyzed Yeast Extract, which few people have heard of and it has the word 'Yeast' in it which we know is in bread and beer (so how bad could it be?).

From the FDA Web site 7/21: "MSG occurs naturally in ingredients such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts, and protein isolate . . . foods with any ingredient that naturally contains MSG cannot claim "No MSG" or "No added MSG" on their packaging."

Nestlé states, "It is well known that what we eat and drink as children sets the foundation for our adult lives" . . . and then Nestlé adds four Sugar sources to a Main Meal Gerber offering for Toddlers . . . and Autolyzed Yeast Extract.

NESTLE ADDS SUGAR TO MAIN MEAL OFFERINGS ELSEWHERE IN THEIR PORTFOLIO: Here's another example of a Nestlé product made for the U.S. with 6 instances of Sugars >> Nestlé Hot Pockets Big & Bold Chicken Bacon Ranch which is banned at Whole Foods (all Nestlé Hot Pockets are banned at Whole Foods) and contains multiple ingredients Not In Kitchen™. (Source: Nestlé Hot Pockets Web site 1/22)

See the Ingredient Inspector review of Nestlé Hot Pockets:

DESPITE THE PACKAGE GRAPHICS WHICH DEPICT REAL CRANBERRIES AND ORANGES, NESTLE GERBER ORGANIC CRANBERRY ORANGE PUFFS (seen below) HAVE NO REAL CRANBERRY AND NO REAL ORANGE . . . JUST THE FLAVOR OF THOSE FRUITS.

These Gerber Puffs contain Organic Cane Sugar as their third ingredient plus they have two FDA-recognized Preservatives >> Citric Acid and Mixed Tocopherols. There are also other ingredients Not In Kitchen™ such as Acetic Acid which is likely there to simulate the tart flavor of missing Cranberries. The Citric Acid may also be included to simulate a fruit flavor >> Oranges >> but, regardless of why Nestlé included the Citric Acid, it is, nonetheless, an FDA-recognized Preservative.

NESTLE ADDS SUGAR TO MULTIPLE GERBER PRODUCTS: If Nestlé truly believes what they say >> "It is well known that what we eat and drink as children sets the foundation for our adult lives" (Source: Nestlé Web site 7/21) >> why do they add Sugar to these Gerber products for Toddlers?

Note about Invert Sugar which is in, for example, Gerber's Puffs product (shown below) >> this is not the same as Sugar. Invert Sugars are commercial sugars that have been altered by a chemical process to provide a sugar with different properties that are more conducive to being utilized in mass-production products which sit on shelves for long periods of time. Invert Sugars are better at helping the product retain moisture which is why we often see Invert Sugar in items like these puffs which seek to maintain a soft texture.

Nestlé Gerber Peach Puffs are made with 'Natural Peach Vanilla Flavor' which includes ingredients such as Citric Acid, Acetic Acid and Invert Sugar.

CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE™ BABY FOODS: Following are some Baby Foods which are Closest To Homemade . . . and some notes on why others are not . . .

Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade™ list

Demeter biodynamic® certification has zero tolerance for genetic modification including the use of any GMO organisms or ingredients. Biodynamic® products are sourced from biodynamic farms which practice regenerative farming >> items are grown and raised here in a way which helps heal the soil and the earth, so they not only taste great and have optimal nutrition but they help combat climate change >> they remove carbon from the atmosphere and put it back into the soil. Find out more about Biodynamic® farming from Demeter — the only certifier in the U.S. for Biodynamic® farms and products:

Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade™ list

Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade™ list

Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade™ list

Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade™ list

Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade™ list

Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade™ list

Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade™ list

Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade™ list

See the Ingredient Inspector review of Plum Organics Baby Food:

Seen below, Danone-owned Happy Family (Happy Baby, Happy Tot) is currently being sued for the presence of lead in some of their products >> lawsuit issued June 2021; read more here:

This has now spiraled into the consolidation of 17 individual lawsuits against Happy Baby:

See the Ingredient Inspector review of Earth's Best Baby Foods:

Here's a handy summary chart of some Baby Food products which are Closest To Homemade:

Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade™ list

Discover more food + beverages whose ingredients are Closest To Homemade in over 150 categories:

And we leave you with a review of old Gerber Baby Food ads . . .

ohearnwourease.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.ingredientinspector.org/home/gerber-baby-foods-ingredients

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