Baby Food

Question: How long can baby food sit out?

(Posted by: muffintop_19 on 2008-06-27 15:41:08)

I know baby food needs to be refridgerated and that you can't feed out of the jar if you want to save it because of the bacteria that gets on the spoon. How long can it sit before i need to throw it out? Sometimes my son doesn't finish his food but then wants more like an hour later. I know formula is an hour.

Posted by: starfire978 on 2008-06-27, 15:47:01

When you consider the fact that bacteria on room tempature food can start growing within 10 minutes or so it really is safer to just spoon what you'll think he'll eat into a bowl and immediately place the unused portion in the fridge. To warm it up you can use the microwave to heat up some water and pour it into a bowl. Then float the baby's bowl in the hot water with a thin layer of baby food in the bottom of the bowl. This way you know for sure he's not getting any bacteria in the food. Since baby food is a puree it's a rather good breeding ground for bacteria.

Posted by: taralone on 2008-06-27, 15:47:24

Depends on the food, some foods start to decay faster than others. i wouldn't let anything set out more than a couple hours though. usually if htey don't finish it at the table i toss it out, give your child healthy snacks to tide him over till the next meal time. just not too many or they won't eat ;)

Posted by: soccene on 2008-06-27, 15:51:21

My son was hospitalized for the first 5 months of his life. First thing is they said it is okay for his formula to sit out for 4 hours. He was tube fed at the time. I wouldn't leave his baby food jars out for more then a hour though.