Historical and cultural Baby food

a hindu child receives first solid food in religious ceremony called annaprashana

baby food varies culture culture. in many cultures, pastes of grain , liquids first baby food. in human history , presently many cultures around world, babies fed food premasticated caretaker of baby in order pulverise food , start digestion process. infant s first bite of solid food ceremonial , holds religious importance in many cultures. example of annaprashan, hindu ritual infant fed sweetened rice porridge, blessed, elder family member. similar rites of passage practiced across asia, including bengal region, vietnam, , thailand.

in western world until mid-1900s, baby food made @ home. industrial revolution saw beginning of baby food market promoted commercial baby foods convenience items. in developed countries, babies started commercially produced iron-fortified infant cereals, , move on mashed fruits , vegetables. commercial baby foods available in dry, ready-to-feed , frozen forms, in small batches (e.g. small jars) convenience of preparation. on contrary, in developing countries, breastfeeding more accepted , socially tolerated in public, creating societal contrast. amy bentley, author of inventing baby food, talks how infant feeding reflects 1 s position in postwar era of american century because in developed countries, families able purchase processed baby foods feed children, whereas in developing country, natural breastfeeding more popular.

commercially prepared baby foods in netherlands first prepared martinus van der hagen through nv nutricia company in 1901. in united states first prepared harold clapp sold clapp s baby food in 1920s. fremont canning company, called gerber products company, started in 1927. beech-nut company entered u.s. baby food market in 1931. first precooked dried baby food pablum made sick children in 1930s. other commercial baby food manufacturers include h. j. heinz company, nestlé, nutricia , organix. heinz produced dehydrated baby food in 1980s. demand parents organic food began grow in 1960s; since then, many larger commercial manufacturers have introduced organic lines of infant food.

at beginning of 20th century in america, babies began eating baby food around age of 7 months. during , shortly after world war ii, age @ solid food first introduced dropped 6 weeks. age has since increased 4 6 months. mid-20th century, manufactured baby food readily used , supplemented previous infant feeding practices. author of inventing baby food, amy bentley argues excessive additives of sugar, salt, , msg in overused manufactured baby food conditioned infants prefer processed foods later in life. also, believed exposing infants solid foods @ earlier age them used foods later on in life. subsequent misuse of salt , sugar feared effect issues of weight , nutrition based diseases.

in china , other east asian countries, homemade baby food remains common, , babies started on rice porridge called xifan, move on mashed fruits, soft vegetables, tofu , fish. in sweden, common start mashed fruit, such bananas, oatmeal , mashed vegetables. in western africa, maize porridge first solid food given young children.