Let’s cut right through the noise of the thousands of baby food options out there and get right to the 3 best organic baby food brands to buy from.
Luckily for us, these brands go so far above and beyond everyone else that they’ve caught the attention of nearly every new parent looking for the best organic baby food options.
Every inch has been covered. From where their ingredients are grown, the testing on their soil types, the precautions around which groups they source from, the manufacturing process they go through, to the materials they use in their packaging.
…and they have been awarded the most rigorous certifications to back it up.
This isn’t baby food mashed up in a glass jar and sold at your nearest grocery store.
These are the gold standard. Let me show you why.
*Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can provide compensation to us at no cost to you if you decide to make a purchase. These are products we’ve personally used and stand behind.
Best Organic Baby Food of 2024
1.
OUR CHOICE
Serenity Kids
2.
MOST VARIETY
Once Upon A Farm
3.
MOST FORTIFIED NUTRIENTS
Cerebelly
Key Takeaways
But First, What Are Heavy Metals in Baby Food?
Let me start with the issue of heavy metals you’ve probably heard about.
If I’m being honest here, if I see the words “heavy metals” in another baby food brand one more time I’m going to make my husband start farming our food in the backyard.
In a nutshell, heavy metals are naturally occurring in the environment from decades of pollution and contamination of soil and water. Because of this, it’s almost impossible to have a food product that is 100% free from heavy metals unless the product is highly processed and refined which adds another layer of various chemicals introduced during this process.
Heavy metals accumulate in the body over time and cause harm during key phases of active brain development leading to cognitive and behavioral problems as well as being a significant risk factor for mental disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and kidney disease.
Another issue is the FDA does not currently regulate heavy metal levels in baby food purees, only in infant formulas and cereal products. Sadly, because baby food purees are such a large portion of the baby food category, there is no FDA label requirement or warning for heavy metals in these baby food products.
Are Heavy Metals in Organic Baby Food?
It’s true that the USDA organic products don’t permit the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals but is relatively silent on the heavy metals concern. Why?
Because there is not enough certified organic compost for the soil needed to grow organic food. To help provide enough compost volume for the soil, the USDA National Organic Program permits the use of conventional compost to be mixed in with certified organic compost to make up for the soil fertilizer needed from organic farms.
This is an issue because conventional compost usually comes from conventional chicken litter facilities and uses various waste materials from the chickens (feed, feathers, etc.) that contribute to an increase in heavy metal concentrations when mixed into certified organic soil.
So what do you do?
The brands that offer the best organic baby food are also Clean Label Project Certified.
This is a trusted 3rd party non-profit organization that tests products for over 400 environmental and industrial toxins, INCLUDING HEAVY METALS.
The organization performs routine supplier testing, and regular food safety audits to ensure products are up to their standards. Contaminants they test for include:
The Importance of Buying The Best Organic Baby Food
I focus on the best organic baby food not just for all the benefits of what it contains, but also for what it doesn’t.
These brands have been tested for more than 400 known toxins and industrial chemicals including synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and artificial additives, dyes, or colors.
This way, your little one will get the needed nutrient-dense foods that support their developmental needs without exposing them to potentially harmful chemicals.
In addition, organic baby food is richer in vitamins and minerals which helps aid in the development of everything during the most crucial times of the newborn phases.
What Does Organic Mean for Your Baby?
For baby food to be labeled USDA organic, it must meet strict regulations that prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and GMOs and must be grown on soils that don’t contain these prohibited substances for at least three years prior to harvest.
As for organic meat, regulators require that animals must be raised in living conditions that accommodate their natural behaviors like the ability to graze on pasture. They must be fed 100% organic feed and forage and never be administered hormones or antibiotics.
If the baby food contains a mixture of foods to be processed together, regulators prohibit organically processed foods from containing artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors and require that their ingredients are organic.
If you combine USDA Certified organic baby food products that are also Clean Label Project Certified, you’ll know they have gone through a very stringent process of testing and ingredient sourcing to ensure you’re feeding your baby and toddler the safest options possible.
The 3 best organic baby food options below are all Clean Label Project Certified.
1. Serenity Kids – Our Choice
Serenity Kids
Serenity Kids has carved a niche for itself with its emphasis on high-quality ingredients, ethical sourcing, and formulations tailored to the nutritional needs of babies. Their products stand out for their use of regeneratively farmed pasture-raised meats, organic vegetables and wild-caught fish options
Serenity Kids has emerged as one of the most popular organic baby food brands on the market, largely because they offer high-quality, meat and vegetable-based baby foods while other brands focus on fruit-based products.
Serenity Kids has filled this niche using grass-fed, pasture-rased free-range meat and poultry products along with wild-caught fish and organic vegetables.
These are easily digestible pouches that contain more protein and healthy fats without all the purees containing added sugars.
The brand currently offers the following products:
Serenity Kids Ingredient Sourcing
One of my favorite things about Serenity Kids is they are 100% transparent about exactly where they source their ingredients from.
The list of their suppliers is so impressive it would make your jaw drop if you read about each one and the practices each supplier uses. I’ll list them below and a link to each one’s website in case you’re interested.
Serenity Kids only partners with small American family farmers that use regenerative agriculture techniques that replicate the way wild animals live in nature.
Serenity Kids Supplier Testing
Serenity Kids upholds strict quality control measures for each of their products. They test all raw materials from their suppliers, test the final products several times once they are created and then they are independently tested again by the Clean Label Project.
Each ingredient is vetted for contaminants, including heavy metals, pesticides, and antibiotics, GMO’s, and hundreds of other known contaminants to ensure that only the safest, cleanest ingredients are used.
Serenity Kids Trusted Certifications
Clean Label Project Purity Award.
Clean Label Project Certified Pesticide Free.
Non-GMO Project Verified.
USDA Certified Organic (All Vegetables and Chickens are organic).
*NOTE: Their salmon is wild-caught and therefore not an agricultural product and cannot be certified organic.
Their beef and pork products are organically raised without hormones, antibiotics, or GMO feed. The farms they source their beef and pork products from are exclusively raised on large pastures in regenerative and sustainable ways, and the animals are continually moved throughout the land during this process – something most other farms don’t do.
This makes the actual organic certification too costly as every inch of land on the entire pasture (sometimes thousands of acres) would have to be certified by USDA representatives to achieve the organic certification. Serenity has chosen to forgo having this certification on their beef and pork products in exchange for sustainable regeneratively farmed meats in their products.
2. Once Upon A Farm – Most Variety
Once Upon A Farm
Once Upon A Farm brings a fresh approach to baby food with its cold-pressed organic purees that retain more nutrients and flavors. Their commitment to non-GMO, organic ingredients, combined with innovative packaging, makes each pouch have a freshness just like a homemade meal would
Once Upon A Farm offers a wide selection of organic baby food products and uses a unique high-pressure, cold-press technology to preserve the taste, quality, and nutrients of fresh produce while removing the use of high-temperature pasteurization that would otherwise damage these nutrients.
The high-pressure process also kills any potentially harmful human pathogens like E. coli, listeria, and salmonella.
The brand currently offers the following products:
Once Upon A Farm’s Ingredient Sourcing
The heart of Once Upon A Farm’s core mission of creating the best organic baby food starts with its stringent ingredient sourcing process.
The brand only works with trusted certified organic farms that practice the highest standards of agricultural practices, ensuring each ingredient is grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and is non-GMO.
Once Upon A Farm’s Supplier Testing
Once Upon A Farm implements rigorous testing protocols with its suppliers. They test 3 separate times during their creation process:
- Require each of their organic suppliers to agree to test regularly
- They then test each batch internally
- Send samples of each batch to an independent product testing facility through the Clean Label Project
Every batch of ingredients is tested for more than 400 environmental and industrial toxins, heavy metals, pesticides, fertilizers, artificial preservatives, colors, dyes, and other contaminants, ensuring that only the cleanest, safest produce makes it into their products.
Once Upon A Farm’s Trusted Certifications
USDA-Certified Organic.
Non-GMO Project Certified.
Clean Label Project Certified.
3. Cerebelly – Most Fortified Nutrients
Cerebelly
Cerebelly sets itself apart with a science-backed approach to baby nutrition, offering purees formulated by neurologists to support brain development. Their unique selling point is the use of superfoods and vegetables rich in key nutrients, tailored to the developmental stages of your little one
Cerebelly’s mission is to combine nutrition and neuroscience for optimal brain development. Founded by a neurosurgeon who is also a mother, Cerebelly provides scientifically formulated foods that support the growth of various regions of the brain during these critical windows of development.
Her research shows that there are 16 essential nutrients needed for brain development and the average generic baby puree only has a small fraction or meaningless amounts of essential nutrients needed.
Cerebelly provides a range of organic baby food that is purees and smart bars. Most generic baby food brands use a fruit-first formula that is high in sugar, low in fiber and lacks nutrient density. Cerebelly uses a veggie-first approach and uses fruit to sweeten each veggie formula.
One of our favorite things about Cerebelly is that their products are specifically tailored to the age of your baby during different phases of their development and recommend different products that contain specific nutrients to aid in their development.
Cerebelly also does the work for you by letting you input the stage your baby is currently at and will provide you with personal nutrition recommendations on which of their products contain certain nutrients needed for this stage.
Cerebelly currently offers the following products:
Cerebelly’s Ingredient Sourcing
Cerebelly takes ingredients sourcing up a notch. They don’t allow their manufacturer to source ingredients from organic farms of the manufacturer’s choosing. Instead, Cerebelly personally selects, vets, and rigorously tests each farmer and supplier themselves across dozens of ingredients.
Cerebelly’s Supplier Testing
Not only does Cerebelly personally test each farmer and supplier, they also review their organic and non-GMO certifications, and personally speak with each supplier to get to know them. They also visit their farmers and production facilities themselves to make sure they are in line with their standards.
Cerebelly also requires their farmers to run additional tests and agree to specifications for low heavy-metal contents and then they test them again themselves.
Next, when a batch of a certain product is made, they send samples to be independently tested AGAIN to verify that all standards have been met.
Cerebelly’s commitment to safety goes to the extreme in the best way possible. They were the first ever children’s food brand to receive the Clean Label Project Purity award.
Their products are screened and tested for over 400 potential contaminants, including heavy metals, to ensure the the safest baby food possible.
Additionally, the water that’s mixed into their food is tested regularly to ensure there are no lead or heavy metals coming from water sources and the packaging for their pouches and caps are BPA-free, BPS-free, phthalate-free, and melamine-free
Cerebelly’s Trusted Certifications
USDA-Certified Organic.
Non-GMO Project Certified.
Clean Label Project Certified.
Price Comparison vs. Generic Brands
The biggest downside with purchasing from each of these three brands comes down to one thing: COST.
If you’ve read this far, you’ll probably understand why these three brands come at a higher price than other popular generic brands. Ultimately, this is up to the individual on whether or not the benefit of buying their products outweighs these costs. As for me, it’s a worthwhile trade-off.
Benefits of Using Baby Food Pouches
- Convenience: The obvious one. Pouches are easy to store, transport, and serve, making them ideal for on-the-go feeding limiting food preparation time.
- Portion Control: They come in measured servings, helping parents provide consistent portion sizes and you know exactly what nutrients are inside.
- Variety: Brands offer a wide range of ingredient flavor combinations, from organic fruits and vegetables to grass-fed meats, exposing babies to diverse tastes and ingredients for their first foods.
- Baby-led Weaning to Solid Foods – organic baby pouches can play a role in the transition to solid foods in a convenient way.
Conclusion
Finding the best organic baby food is a delicate balance between nutrition, safety, convenience, and sustainability.
Brands like Serenity Kids, Once Upon A Farm, and Cerebelly lead the charge by offering products that meet the high standards today’s parents expect
As organic baby food continues to evolve with more baby meals that mimic what homemade baby food would be, these brands will continue offering new products with the same level of quality for you to introduce your little one to.
In my opinion, after knowing what is actually in different baby food brands, there’s no compromise on the quality of food options our kids need. Try these options for yourself and you won’t be disappointed!
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Meet Devin Duff
