A solid family name. (Heinz Baby Food)

Member Name: RU5H1NG

Product:	Heinz Baby Food
Date:	02/11/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Variety, fun, convenient

Disadvantages: Tins do not reseal, not many options for allergen free foods

Heinz baby food comes in a variety of options including dried products (where you add milk or warm water) such as creamy porridge, sunshine banana, baby rice and cauliflower cheese; tinned foods such as beans and bacon, strawberry cheesecake; their own pure juices such as pear, apple and cherry; jars "Mum's own recipe" such as Apple rice pudding and Caribbean pork casserole; custard pots; rusks and biscottis.

You can get further information about their range of products for babies at http://www.heinzbaby.co.uk/products/baby-food.aspx , the website is easy to navigate and provides information on what products are safe for specific diets such as vegetarian, halal and gluten intolerance. There are also some meal planners in PDF form that you can download for helpful hints and ideas for weaning up to 12 mth.

The name of Heinz carries much reassurance of good quality for many people. It is a brand that people trust as a family-orientated name. I doubt there are many homes in Britain that do not have at least one product by Heinz in their cupboard. The popularity of a company can be passed from generation to generation. As a child, I can remember my beans on toast were always Heinz.

I think that Heinz baby foods are still popular today because they have evolved and broadened their range including organic options, cook at home sauces and slightly less conventional foods such as biscotti biscuits. Put these alongside the more traditional favourites such as tinned chocolate pudding and you have something on offer for everyone.

With my third baby, I decided to follow the NHS guidelines and to not feed him anything containing gluten, meat, dairy or egg until he was around 6 months old. Sadly, I found that although they state their first foods as suitable from 4-6mths onwards that most options contain at least one of these ingredients. I found Hipp to have a slightly better variety and used their jars more often.

Now that my son is 6 months old and I am less worried about allergies, I have started trying him with some of the cans as a treat for when we are travelling and he adores their flavours. I am wary of giving him Heinz too often as I do not want him to enjoy them so much that he turns his nose up at anything homemade that I give him. He doesn't seem to be very keen on the powdered food and I will not be buying it again. The tins taste very similar to the adult varieties of tinned food albeit a little bit blander. The downside is that once opened you cannot reseal them, however, my son has a large appetite so this has not been a problem for us.

The only foods I will avoid using with my son now are the rusks (as I heard they are bad for teeth) and the chocolate pudding (children can get hooked on chocolate from an early age).

I would recommend joining the Heinz Baby Club at http://www.heinzbaby.co.uk/ , they have sent me some free samples of follow-on milk, creamed porridge and plenty of vouchers. This means if you wish to try their products, it will not be a huge waste of cash.

All in all, I am fairly happy with their baby foods and will be using them occasionally: either as a treat or when we are particularly busy as they are convenient and tasty and not too expensive.

Summary: Will continue using their food.