I was at the grocery store today buying baby food for Sabrina. I typically buy a combination of Earth's Best and Organic Gerber for a bit of a varied selection. As I was dumping the containers into my cart, I thought - WAIT! These Gerber's are packaged in plastic!! I checked the bottom and sure enough, it was marked with a #7 recycling symbol. With no clue as to what #7 referred to, I put it back and cleaned out the Earth's Best section which come in warm and fuzzy glass jars.
I came home and sat down to research only to find out that #7 refers to "other." Other? Other what? Essentially #7 is used when the container is made from materials other than #1 through #6, or if it's a combination of more than 1 plastic. For more info on recycling symbols, check this out.
In the case of the Gerber containers, I read on SafeMama.com that they are made with a combination of #1 and #2 plastics. HOWEVER, when I called Gerber myself, I was told that the baby food containers are made with #6 as the outer layer and #4 on the inside. The representative also told me the containers are BPA-free and safe to heat for up to 30 seconds. Gerber doesn't recommend freezing the food in the containers simply because it changes the food's composition. And they are discourage re-using the plastic containers.
This research leaves me more confused than ever since while #4 is often used for storing foods like squeezable products and bread bags, it is my understanding that #6 (polystyrene) is best avoided for food storage. This, combined with the fact that Gerber is circulating inconsistent information, leaves me no choice but to boycott Gerber baby food until I (or they) can get some solid information regarding their products.
If anyone knows anything more on this, please comment or email me. This is a bummer since Gerber does make nice food combinations and they are slightly less expensive than other organic varieties.
We just can't win, can we. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I buy Gerber Organic a lot and Spunky Baby loves their stuff. Darn.
Posted by: Sarah the Spunky Mommy @myjezi | April 29, 2008 at 03:41 PM
When my son was eating baby food (that was until about 3 months ago), I used to buy Earth's Best most of the time, but like you, I got Gerber Organic due to the better variety of flavors. But when Gerber came out with organic, I was a bit skeptical. I always figured that a company like Earth's Best (who's livelihood was in selling healthy and organic foods for kids) would probably never fail me, but Gerber I felt was just going with the organic trend we are now seeing. And if something came up and people stopped buying Gerber's organic food for one reason or another, it wouldn't force them to go bankrupt, giving them more opportunities to skimp here and there, hoping no one would notice. This goes to show us all that Gerber did exactly what we thought they would, and fail... because they are a large company that many people still (unknowingly) trust. I'm glad you discovered what you did and got the word out, mother's and father's out there NEED to know these things...thank you!
Jen
Posted by: mommy instincts | April 29, 2008 at 06:59 PM
It is a problem - I have avoided this issue by making my own purees and freezing them. Then I know exactly what is in them - http://parkcitygirl.blogspot.com/2008/03/baby-food.html
Posted by: Amy | May 02, 2008 at 01:57 PM
It is a problem - I have avoided this issue by making my own purees and freezing them. Then I know exactly what is in them - http://parkcitygirl.blogspot.com/2008/03/baby-food.html
Posted by: Amy | May 02, 2008 at 01:58 PM
I have had the same concerns about the Gerbers organic containers. And to top it off, you can't even recycle them easily! I still have quite a few in my cabinet but I think I will refrain from getting any more. I do however, try to compensate a little by heating the food separately in little pyrex heat-safe ramekins. Where the heck can you get heat safe baby bowls? I haven't seen any!
Posted by: Wendy | May 05, 2008 at 11:47 AM
Hi Wendy,
I just bought heat-safe bowls, plates, cups & utensils at Ikea – they look like this - http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10096907. You have to go to the store to buy them but they’re super cheap.
Hope this helps!
Jill
Posted by: Jill | May 05, 2008 at 12:14 PM
I'm guilty being one of the people who trust Gerber. Good thing I've been buying the glass jar contained baby food.
Posted by: baby bows | March 24, 2009 at 05:42 AM