Mr Samuel Atuahene Antwi, the Nutritionist, Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, has cautioned parents against adding processed foods to their babies’ menus as part of complementary feeding.

Mr Antwi said after six months of exclusive breastfeeding of babies, foods to complement the breast milk must be well-prepared family foods, containing nutritious ingredients available locally to aid their essential developmental growth.

Speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, he said some of the processed foods do not have the right proportion of the necessary nutrients needed for babies’ development.

He mentioned that although giving babies a variety of foods was crucial to their growth, the variety must fall within stables, vegetables, and healthy oils, among others.

The Tema Metro Nutritionist said that most children react to some preservatives used to extend the shelf life of the foods, which he said sometimes made it difficult for parents to immediately identify triggers of allergies in their
children.

Mr Antwi added that some processed food manufacturers do not display the right information on their items, making it dangerous to give to babies, therefore stressing the need to prepare food at home for babies.

He cautioned parents feeding babies below six months with processed foods to desist from such acts as the digestive system of babies was not ready for any food apart from breast milk in the first six months of life, stressing that it could lead to malnutrition.

Source: Ghana News Agency