WHY SHOULD BABY FOOD BE FORTIFIED WITH IRON?

Insufficient iron intake from food is one of the biggest challenges for infants and toddlers. Reasons are very logical.

  1. Food portions are small, especially when solid foods are introduced.
  2. Food is low in iron, especially during the first year of life (veggies, fruits, porridge).
  3. Daily iron need for infants and toddlers is very high – 6 mg according to European Commission, 7-10 mg according to local guidelines in Estonia (where we are from). Just to compare this amount, an adult man needs around 9 mg daily in Estonia.
  4. Toddlers have often periods, when they are picky eaters.

Our children food is fortified with iron to ensure sufficient iron intake of our little ones. We use premium iron bisglycinate for the first time for fortification. Iron is added based on guidelines from European Commission. From 1 porridge jar 190 g a child gets 3,2-4,3 mg of iron that makes up 53-72% NRV. All iron-fortified food is suitable for daily use. Iron-fortified food is not a food supplement.

Iron-fortified baby food differs from ordinary baby food only in that sense that it includes a small amount of iron to meet the daily demand. Iron does not affect the taste. On the contrary, organic iron fortified porridges have a nice texture and delicious taste that is difficult to resist. The recipe has also been approved by our babies and toddlers! 🙂

Bon appetit!

Used literature

Name JJ, Vasconcelos AR, Valzachi Rocha Maluf MC. Iron Bisglycinate Chelate and Polymaltose Iron for the Treatment of Iron Deficiency Anemia: A Pilot Randomized Trial. Curr Pediatr Rev. 2018;14(4):261-268.

Iron-fortified food is perfect for daily use and also suitable for children, who also use iron supplements. Iron-fortified food helps to increase iron intake and should be part of infants and toddlers daily menu at least during the first three years of life.

Eat cold or warm up in microwave at 800 W for 15 seconds in a separate bowl. Mix the porridge before serving. Porridges are perfect also for older children and adults. Just add iron-fortified porridge instead of jam to your home-made porridge. In that way you increase the content of iron significantly. Porridges are an excellent choice for breakfast and evening snack.

In case of already existing iron problems iron supplements are needed. Our famous iron supplements can be found from HERE.

Below you can find recommended iron daily intake in Estonia (Tervise Arengu Instituut).

INFANTS AND TODDLERS

7-10 MG

GIRLS FROM 10-17 YEARS

9-15 MG

BOYS FROM 10-17

9 MG

BABYFOOD IN WEBSTORE