Guest blog by Jenna Brown BScHons MCIEH @foodsafetymum

Weaning Food Safely

Beginning the weaning journey with your little one is such an exciting time for so many reasons, but there is so much to prepare for! Between deciding when your baby is ready, choosing a highchair, first foods, baby led weaning or purees and so much more, it’s important not to forget that above all, any food you serve needs to be safe!

Food hygiene in the home is important to make sure we don’t serve our children (or anyone else!) food which could cause them to become ill. This is even more important when preparing food for babies and young children, particularly as they don’t have the same immune system as us adults, or even older children.

To help keep our little ones safe when weaning, I’ve summarised just some of the key things to be aware of when cooking at home below:

Food storage

The way you store food once you get it home from the supermarket is one of the first things you should be thinking about. Here are some things to look out for:

•  Make sure your fridge is running between 0°C – 5°C. If you’re not sure, it might be worth investing in a fridge thermometer (you can usually pick one of these up for less than £5)

• Know the difference between use by dates and best before! ‘Use by’ dates are provided for safety reasons and ‘best before’ dates are about quality. Never serve a baby food that has gone past it’s use by date

• Keep an eye on packs that have been opened! Opening a product; such as ham or milk, will change the shelf life and usually mean it needs to be used within the next few days, so make sure you check the back of pack for the shelf life once opened

• Store foods correctly in your fridge; making sure that raw meat products are kept on the bottom shelf

• Don’t overfill your fridge! This will restrict the air flow and affect the temperature 

Hygiene

Having a clean kitchen and clean hands are so important when preparing food for your little one! 

• Always disinfect food preparation surfaces with a clean dishcloth before starting 

•  Wash your hands before preparing food, but don’t forget to wash your baby’s hands too before serving!

•  Prevent cross-contamination between raw meat and ready to eat foods when cooking. Prepare them separately and clean as you go. My kitchen is full of different coloured utensils and chopping boards to help make this easy!

• Make sure you wash all fruit and vegetables thoroughly. Did you know that Norovirus (the most common cause of gastroenteritis) can be found on foods such as lettuce and raspberries?[1]

What to do with leftovers?

Babies have little tummies and a daily changing appetite! Batch cooking was a life saver for me when I began weaning my daughter (and still is!) but the way you handle leftovers is important!

• Cool any food you want to re-use or freeze, as quickly as possible, but always within 2 hours (Follow @Foodsafetymum Instagram for some tips on how to cool food quickly!)

• As a rule of thumb, only keep leftover food in the fridge for 24-48 hours. I am a huge advocator for freezing so if you can, always freeze any leftover batches of dinner, sauces or purees. Freezing “pauses” the growth of bacteria, locks in nutrients, prevents spoilage and ultimately helps reduce wastage! 

•  When reheating food, make sure it is piping hot throughout before serving, and then allow to cool before serving to your baby.

• Don’t reheat food more than once

What about managing rice?

• When handling leftovers it’s important you know how to handle leftover rice safely! 

• Rice contains a spore forming bacteria which can survive cooking so if cooked rice is left at ambient temperature for too long, then the bacteria can multiply and produce toxins; which will NOT be killed when reheating!

• How quickly you cool rice after cooking is critical in ensuring that your leftover rice will be safe to use. You should therefore make sure your rice is always cooled down as quickly as possible, but always within an hour and a half. Check out Jenna’s tips for cooling rice and other leftovers.

• Once your rice has cooled down, cover it, put it in the fridge and use within 24 hours! If you’re reheating your rice, make sure you reheat fully until piping hot!  

These are just a few of many things to think about and hopefully these points will help you in your weaning journey, helping to keep families and little ones safe!

This blog was written by Jenna Brown. She has a first class BSc honours degree in Environmental Health and have since qualified as an Environmental Health Practitioner. She is a member of the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH) and Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH). Her work in the food industry over the past 12 years has made her passionate about promoting food safety in the home, especially since becoming a Mum to her amazing little girl Mia.For more home friendly tips and advice to help keep you and your families safe  follow Jenna on Instagram @Foodsafetymum. 

[1] Food Standards Agency, Assessing the contribution made by the food chain to the burden of UK-acquired norovirus infection (2020)