Facts about Infants

A Guide to Infants

Infants

If you're a parent, sibling, or babysitter, it's important to practice food safety. Infants and young children are especially vulnerable to foodborne illness because their immune systems are not fully developed. Also, their stomachs produce less acid, which makes it easier for harmful microorganisms to get through their digestive system and invade their bodies.

Here are some important food safety TIPS when taking care of infants and young children:

Wash Up

• Wash your hands with hot, soapy water after changing a diaper or after any activity in which your hands could have picked up germs. You don't want to transmit those germs to an infant or a child. Frequently wash children's hands with warm (not hot) soapy water.
• Wash eating areas with hot, soapy water.
• Use detergent and hot water to wash and rinse all utensils (including the can opener) that come in contact with a baby's foods.

Baby's Bottles

• Clean bottles after every use. Harmful bacteria can infect an infant during the next feeding if the bottle is not washed properly.
• You can reuse the nipples of disposable bottles, but be aware that bacteria from the formula could be lurking and growing in the nipples. Thoroughly clean the nipples after each use.
• Heat Bottles Carefully. Do not heat baby bottles in the microwave. Microwaves can heat unevenly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prvention warn that children's mouths and throats can be severely burned by bottles heated in the microwave. Although some babies will drink a bottle straight from the refrigerator, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises most babies prefer milk warm. Warm the bottle by holding it under a running hot-water faucet or putting in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes. Shake well and test milk temperature to make sure it's not too hot before feeding. Test the temperature of milk by putting several drops on your wrist. When ou can barely feel the temperature on your skin, the milk is ready for the baby.
• Do not save milk from a used bottle to use at another feeding; dispose of it instead. Refrigerate opened cans of ready-to-feed or liquid concentrate formula. Use within 24 hours after opening or follow the directions on the label.
• Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for preparing bottles before filling them with formula or milk. Observe the "Use By" dates on formula cans.

Baby's Food

Fill a bottle with just enough milk for one serving. Harmful bacteria from a baby's mouth can be introduced into food or bottles where it can grow and multiply even after refrigerating and reheating. So, if the baby doesn't finish the bottle, throw away any leftovers.

• Milk, formula, or food left out at room temperature or without a cold pack for more than 2 hours should not be used.
• Do not feed a baby directly from a jar of baby food and put it back in the refrigerator again. Saliva on the spoon or in the jar can contaminate the remaining food. Instead, put just enough food on a dish for one serving using a clean spoon before feeding the baby.
• If using commercial baby foods, check each new jar to see if the safety button on the lid is down. If the jar lid doesn't "pop" when opened, do not use. Discard jars with chipped glass or rusty lids.
• Do not feed a baby honey or syrup -- at least for the first 6 months. Honey and syrups can contain spores of Clostridium botulinum. The immune systems of adults and older children can prevent the spores from growing once ingested. However, in an infant, these spores can grow and cause infant botulism.
• Don't give baby any nuts, seeds, raw carrots, hot dogs, candy, grapes, popcorn, peanut butter and other small foods that can cause choking. A child must learn to chew well before you feed these foods.

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