Clean Label Project – How Clean is Your Baby Food

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Clean Label Project . The opinions and text are all mine.

My daughter is almost 23 months old, but when she was an infant I remember walking down the baby food aisles in shock at the selection of food items! It looked quite different than it did 7 years ago when my next youngest was born! In fact there are over 700 different baby food products available! So how do you narrow down the best choices for your baby? At the time all I could do was check the labels and make sure I understood what was in everything – but how did I REALLY know?

NOW you have the Clean Label Project!

So what is the Clean Label Project?

The Clean Label Project (AKA CLP) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that helps educate consumers on the purest foods in the USA for babies and toddlers. It contracts an independent, accredited lab which then conducts blind tests on foods sold in supermarkets and natural food stores in the U.S. Its board of directors and medical advisory board is comprised of pediatricians, epidemiologists, and food scientists.

CLP sent off 628 baby food products in a blind test which represented about 90% of the top selling brands from 2014-2016. They tested for toxic and heavy metals, pesticides, BPA, antibiotics, food colors, flavors, and other unwanted substances. On the ‘CLP Magnified List, Baby Food’ you’ll also find recommendations of products scientifically determined to contain the lowest acceptable levels of potentially harmful contaminants. The data was reviewed by their advisory board to create a proprietary algorithm as a benchmark for foods.

Here are some of the SHOCKING results on the CLP Magnified List, Baby Food:

*Only ONE toddler snack made the list! One! (This is largely due to arsenic levels in rice based snacks.)
*80% of infant formulas tested contained detectable antibiotic residues.
*60% of meat  and dairy baby food jars tested contained detectable antibiotic residues.
*33% of jars and meals tested had detectable pesticide residues.
*15% of ALL products tested exceeded the FDA/EPA drinking water limit for arsenic (some as much as 20 times more!)
*BOTH organic and non-organic products contained heavy metal impurities. (Note – organic certification does NOT regulate the finished products, only the food production process.)

3 Things to Remember about Baby Food:

1. More expensive does NOT always mean better quality!
2. While organic is still a great choice remember that there are many non-organic options that are also a great choice!
3. Unfortunately it’s no surprise that there are no products completely contaminant free, however, there is a HUGE difference in toxin levels across the board.

Please share the Clean Label Project with your friends and family and help our children have better food choices! 

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Clean Label Project . The opinions and text are all mine.

 

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