25 Foods You Should Never Feed

Your Baby Before Age 1

While most foods can be prepared in a safe way for babies starting solids at 6-months-of-age,
there are some foods that you should never offer a baby in their first year.

1 2 3 4 5

Honey Raw Baby Raw Apple Hot Dogs Breakfast

Carrots Quarters Sausage Links

6 7 8 9 10

Whole Whole or Frozen Raw & Loose Corn Popcorn

Grapes Blueberries Smoked Fish Kernels

11 12 13 14 15

Whole Nuts Dried Fruit Shrimp Tuna Clams, Mussels,

& Seeds Oysters & Scallops

16 17 18 19 20

Raw Milk String Cheese American Store-Bought Soy Sauce &

Cheese Cheese Macaroni & Cheese Fish Sauce

21 22 23 24 25

Instant Ramen Instant Potato & Tortilla Juice & Soda Candy &
Noodles Pudding Chips Chocolate

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25 Foods You Should Never Feed
Your Baby Before Age 1
While most foods can be prepared in a safe way for babies starting solids at 6-months-of-age,
there are some foods that you should never offer a baby in their first year.

1. Honey
Honey can cause infant botulism in babies younger than 12-months-old. While it’s considered safe
to serve honey after 12 months, it’s best to avoid all sweeteners until closer to age 2 (and even then,
limit exposure).

2. Raw Baby Carrots

Raw carrots and baby carrots, in particular, top choking hazard lists because they are round and
hard. To minimize the risk, grate raw carrots or cook well and cut in half (or quarters) lengthwise.

3. Raw Apple Quarters

Raw apple is among the most common causes of fatal choking hazards in children younger than age
3 in North America. Quartered apples are the riskiest. To minimize the risk, cook apple halves until
soft or thinly slice or grate raw apple.

4. Hot Dogs
Hot dogs are among the top choking hazards in North America because of their round, cylindrical
shape. As with all cured meats, hot dogs are also high in nitrates and sodium, which are not healthy.

5. Breakfast Sausage Links

Sausage links are among the top choking hazards because of their round, cylindrical shape. As with
all cured meats, sausage links can be high in nitrates and sodium, which are not healthy. Best to wait
until age 2 and, even then, limit consumption.

6. Whole Grapes
Whole grapes, especially the smaller varieties, are choking hazards because they are round, slippery,
and firm. To minimize the risk, quarter grapes lengthwise.

7. Whole or Frozen Blueberries

Whole or frozen blueberries are potential choking hazards due to their round shape. To minimize the
risk, flatten each berry into a disc before serving.

8. Raw & Smoked Fish

Consuming raw or smoked fish increases the chance of food poisoning, to which babies are most
susceptible.

9. Loose Corn Kernels

Loose corn kernels are a potential choking hazard. To minimize the risk, serve corn on the cob,
as gnawing and munching change the kernel shape and greatly reduces the risk.

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10. Popcorn
Due to the nature of un-popped or partially popped kernels, popcorn is a potential choking
hazard and among the most common causes of fatal choking hazards in children younger than 3
in North America.

11. Whole Nuts & Seeds

Whole nuts and seeds are choking risks. Instead, opt for nut butters thinned well with water,
breast milk/human milk, formula, or plain yogurt.

12. Dried Fruit

Not only is dried fruit sugar-dense, it’s also a potential choking hazard and often contains unhealthy
preservatives.

13. Shrimp
Shrimp’s rubbery nature makes it a potential choking hazard. Shrimp can also be quite high in
sodium. If you want to introduce shrimp, opt for fresh shrimp and slice thinly lengthwise.

14. Tuna
Along with all fish high in mercury (Chilean sea bass, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark,
Spanish mackerel, swordfish, and tilefish), try to avoid serving tuna. Instead of canned tuna, serve
low-sodium sardines, canned salmon, or chub mackerel.

15. Clams, Mussels, Oysters, & Scallops

These bivalve mollusks are potential choking hazards and, if served raw, carry a high risk for food
poisoning, to which babies are more susceptible. If you want to introduce shellfish, buy from a
trusted source, cook well, and thinly slice.

16. Raw Milk Cheese

Unpasteurized products such as raw cheese contain a high listeria risk. Listeria is a bacterium
that can cause serious illness.

17. String Cheese

String cheese is a potential choking hazard when served in its whole form or cut cylinders. It can be
high in sodium. Instead, opt for fresh mozzarella or Swiss cheese cut in thin strips, and when serving
string cheese, minimize the risk by serving in thin strips and never in bite-size cubes.

18. American Cheese

Extremely processed and high in sodium, American cheese exceeds the recommended maximum
daily serving of sodium in a single slice. Instead, opt for fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, ricotta,
or Swiss cheese.

19. Store-Bought Macaroni & Cheese

Boxed and store-bought macaroni & cheeses are exceedingly high in sodium. Instead, opt for pasta
with butter or homemade mac and cheese. If boxed macaroni and cheese is all you have, only use
half of the flavoring packet to reduce sodium.

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20. Soy Sauce & Fish Sauce
Soy and fish sauces are extremely high in sodium. One tablespoon of soy sauce contains more than
800mg of sodium, and one tablespoon of fish sauce can contain more than 1,400mg of sodium—more
than triple the amount of sodium recommended for an infant in a day. It’s fine to offer baby food from
a larger family-style meal containing a small amount of fish or soy sauce, but don’t add additional
soy sauce or fish sauce directly to baby’s food and refrain from offering these sauces as a dip.

21. Instant Ramen Noodles

Instant ramen noodles are extremely high in sodium, at 875mg per serving, depending on the brand.
Instead, opt for homemade ramen using plain Japanese of Chinese curly noodles and low-sodium
chicken or vegetable broth.

22. Instant Pudding

Processed foods are generally high in sodium, and instant pudding is a prime example, with more
than 300mg of sodium per serving. Instead, opt for homemade chia seed pudding.

23. Potato & Tortilla Chips

Potato chips and tortilla chips are often extremely high in sodium, poor in nutritional value,
and potential choking hazards.

24. Juice & Soda

Babies should be drinking breast milk or formula in the first year. Never serve soda or any other
sugar-sweetened beverage to a baby. Unless medically indicated, juice is inappropriate for babies.

25. Candy & Chocolate

Candy and chocolate are high in sugar and not appropriate for babies or toddlers. Chocolate also
contains caffeine, and many candies are potential choking hazards for young children.

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How to Modify Common Choking Hazards
Round, firm foods create a high choking risk for babies and children under the age of five. To minimize the
risk, cut each piece into quarters lengthwise, from stem to bottom.

Grapes Grape Tomatoes Chickpeas & Peas Blueberries Citrus

quarter lengthwise quarter lengthwise smash smash or quarter remove membranes

Peanut, Nut & Seed Butters

Nut butters are an excellent source of nutrition for babies, but because they are sticky and hard to
swallow, always thin with yogurt, applesauce, breast milk/human milk, or prepared formula. Never serve
nut butters by themselves or on top of rice crackers or bread until baby is 12 months old and/or adept at
chewing and swallowing. Introducing nut butters before age one may help prevent allergies—just be sure
the consistency resembles a puree.

Salt
Sodium—an essential nutrient that we all need—isn’t healthy in excess. Most often, excessive salt or
sodium in the diet is problematic from a long-term health perspective, though there have been cases of
salt poisoning (both deliberate and unintentional) but this is extremely rare.1

The most likely risk associated with excessive salt or sodium consumption in infancy is that it may set
the stage for sustained increased sodium consumption which can increase their risk of obesity and
hypertension later on in life, which can ultimately lead to heart disease and stroke.2

So how much sodium can babies have? There is insufficient data to determine the recommended Dietary
Reference Intakes for sodium consumption for babies, so an Adequate Intake has been established,
which is based on sodium levels in breast milk/human milk. The adequate intake value for Infants aged
0 to 6 months is 110mg/day. At this age, adding salt to a baby’s food is unnecessary and has not been
established as safe.3

Babies aged 7 to 12 months have an adequate intake value of 370 mg/day, keeping in mind that
breast milk and formula contain sodium. Children aged 1 to 3 years old have an adequate intake value
of 800mg/day.4,5

Sodium Intake
• 0 and 6 months: 110mg of sodium per day
• 7 to 12 months: 370mg/day
• 1 to 3 years old: 800mg/day

1
Soloway, R.A. (2013). Sodium: Too Much of a Good Thing. National Capital Poison Center.
2
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2019. Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press
3
Strazzullo P, Campanozzi A, Avallone S. Does salt intake in the first two years of life affect the development of cardiovascular disorders in adulthood?. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc
Dis. 2012;22(10):787–792. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2012.04.003
4
Gropper, S., Smith, J. (2013). Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, 6th ed. Independence, KS: Wadsworth Publishing, Cengage Learning7
5
Strohm, D., Bechthold, A., Ellinger, S., Leschik-Bonnet, E., Stehle, P., Heseker, H., & German Nutrition Society (DGE) (2018). Revised Reference Values for the Intake of Sodium
and Chloride. Annals of nutrition & metabolism, 72(1), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.1159/000484355

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To keep your baby within a safe range of sodium intake, avoid foods with more than 100mg of sodium
per serving as well as processed foods and high-sodium foods and condiments, like fish sauce, soy sauce,
instant ramen noodles, cottage cheese, macaroni and cheese, pickles, and smoked salmon and carefully
read labels on rice cakes, canned products, crackers, as well as prepared baby and toddler foods, which
can be surprisingly high in sodium. If your baby shows interest in something age-appropriate that you’re
eating (and likely contains salt), it’s okay to offer a small portion

Bottom line: Choose fresh, whole foods over processed foods for your baby when you can.

Water, Juice & Soda

Babies under 6 months old should not be given anything to drink other than breast milk/human milk or
formula. This includes water, which can make young babies quite sick. Always follow formula instructions
and never dilute formula powders to “stretch” them.

At 6 months old, it is okay to introduce small sips of water in an open cup for practice and acclimation to
the taste. While the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests offering up to 8 ounces of water per
day at this age, it is our strong opinion that water should be limited to less than 2 to 4 ounces a day to
avoid displacing valuable nutrition from breast milk/human milk or formula.6 Cow’s milk should be avoided
as a drink at this age but can be used in prepared foods such as oatmeal or warm cereals.

At 10 months old, it is our opinion that small sips of cow’s milk in an open cup (1 to 2 ounces) to practice
feeding skills and accustom your baby to the taste is appropriate as long as it does not displace the in-
take of breast milk/human milk, formula, and iron-rich foods.

Regarding juice, soda, flavored milks, and other drinks with added sugars and sweeteners,
we strongly recommend you avoid them until your child is at least two years old, and
even then, to think twice. Consumption of juice, soda, flavored milks, and other sweetened
beverages can lead to a preference for sweet foods (and rejection of other drinks like
water and plain milk) and increase the risk of excess weight gain, heart disease, diabetes,
and fatty liver disease.7

8
American Academy of Pediatrics, Healthy Children. Recommended Drinks for Young Children 0-5 years old. Retrieved May 9, 2020. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/
healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/Recommended-Drinks-for-Young-Children-Ages-0-5.aspx
9
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