Can I Prepare Food for My Baby for the Next Day

Cleanliness and food freshness are especially important once your baby starts to eat solid food. This is because your baby's immune system is less developed than yours. Their tummy is more vulnerable to bacteria that can cause food poisoning and tummy bugs. From keeping work surfaces clean to safely storing, defrosting and reheating your baby's food, here are some simple food safety tips.

What age can I give my baby solid food?

The Department of Health advises not starting solids until your baby is six months old. This gives their immune system time to develop.

If you choose to start your baby on solids before six months, you should take extra care. Sterilise feeding spoons until your baby is six months old and wash bowls and feeding equipment in a dishwasher or very hot water. Use a clean tea towel or paper towels to dry them.

How clean do I need to be?

You don't need to make your kitchen totally sterile. There's even evidence that our houses are too clean these days! However, it makes sense to follow these basic hygiene tips:

• Wash your hands before you start to prepare meals for your baby.
• Wash highchairs, bibs, bowls and spoons in hot, soapy water and make sure chopping boards and utensils are also kept clean.
• Keep work surfaces clean and any pets away from food or surfaces where food is prepared or eaten.
• If your baby is eating finger foods or eating with their hands, wash their hands before they eat their meals.
• Keep raw meats and eggs covered and away from other foods in the fridge, including cooked or ready-to-eat meats. Store raw meats in clean, airtight containers at the bottom of the fridge to prevent any drips from falling on to other foods.
• Change kitchen cloths and tea towels often.

How can I serve food safely?

When reheating baby food, make sure it's piping hot throughout. You should be able to see steam coming out. Let it cool down before you give it to your baby. Stir the food well and check the temperature yourself before giving it to your baby. Never reheat food more than once.

Defrost frozen food thoroughly before you cook it. The safest way to do this is to leave it in the fridge overnight or use the defrost setting on a microwave. Never refreeze something that has already been defrosted.

Also, remember these tips:

• If you're using a microwave to heat food, stir it well to avoid hot spots.
• Cook eggs that don't have the British Lion mark until the yolk and white are solid. You can give raw eggs (for example, in homemade mayonnaise) or runny eggs to babies if the eggs have the British Lion mark, as these are safe to eat.
• Cook meats such as sausage, chicken, meatballs and pork, until they are no longer pink in the middle.
• Wash and peel fruit and veggies, such as apples and carrots.
• Don't give your baby any dishes containing raw shellfish.

5 tips for healthy eating

How can I store food safely?

Follow these tips to make sure you store your baby's food safely:

• If you're cooking batches of homemade baby food in advance, cool them quickly, ideally within one to two hours. Then store them in the fridge. Freeze anything that won't be used within 48 hours.
• If your baby leaves any food in their bowl or jar after a meal, throw it away. Food that has been in contact with saliva contains bacteria that multiplies if left. If you know your baby won't eat a whole jar of baby food, decant some of it into a bowl before serving it to your little one, and store the remaining food in the fridge.
• Check the best-before and use-by dates on food that you give to your baby. If you have uneaten food left in a jar, check the storage instructions to see how long it can stay in the fridge. However, throw away leftovers that have already been heated up once and jars you have fed your baby from.
• Make sure the seals on cans and jars aren't broken.
• Check the temperature of your fridge. It should be between zero degrees C and five degrees C. Buy a separate fridge thermometer from a hardware shop if your fridge doesn't have one.

For extra peace of mind, see our first aid for choking video to make sure you know what to do, just in case.

More weaning tips and recipe ideas

• Signs your baby's ready for baby-led weaning.
• Does your little one still need breastmilk or formula?.
• What other parents wish they'd known before starting solids.
• Making your own baby food? Check out these delicious and nutritious homemade purees.

References

BNF. nda. Infant nutrition. British Nutrition Foundation. www.nutrition.org.uk [Accessed May 2021]

BNF. nda. Introducing solid foods to your baby. British Nutrition Foundation. www.nutrition.org.uk [Accessed May 2021]

FSA. 2020. Chilling Food Standards Agency. www.food.gov.uk [Accessed May 2021]

NHS. 2020. How to prepare and cook food safely. Health A-Z, NHS. www.nhs.uk [Accessed May 2021]

NHS. 2018. Children's food: safety and hygiene . Health A-Z, NHS. www.nhs.uk [Accessed May 2021]

NHS. 2014. A guide to weaning. NHS Forth Valley. www.nhsforthvalley.com [Accessed May 2021]Unicef. 2015. Introducing solid foods. Unicef. www.unicef.org.uk [pdf file, accessed May 2021]

Emma Woolfenden is a freelance copywriter and editor who creates parenting, health and lifestyle content.

Can I Prepare Food for My Baby for the Next Day

Source: https://www.babycentre.co.uk/a1005425/how-to-prepare-baby-food-safely

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