Gerber Baby Food | Imamother

amother

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 9:20 pm

I was just wondering if anyone out there buys Gerber jar/plastic containers of baby food (fruits and vegetables only) even though they do not have a hechsher. The supermarket near my house carries bother Gerber and Beechnut but they never seem to have any of the Beechnut products on the shelf and I end up having to go to a few different stores to buy the food. I called Gerber and was told that the only reason they are not certified is because they do not want to pay for a Mashgiach. I don't understand this since some of their products are kosher but the women couldn't answer that. What do other imamothers do????

happy chick

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 9:24 pm

the jars I use only beech nut, but the cereals like, rice, barley or oatmeal that you mix with milk, juice, or whatever, those have an ou.

Mimisinger

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 9:26 pm

Are you asking if people will use something w/o a hechsher? I hope the answer from everyone is no.

(Save those Europeans that go by 'the' list)

ETA:
There are of course, certain things that reliable agencies say don't need hechshers - such as eggs, however, I would think that most rabbeim would say that cooked vegetables should have a hechsher, no?

amother

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 9:34 pm

Personally, I would not do it without calling the ou first (they provide hasgacha on other Gerber products). Even the Beech Nut jars aren't all kosher, although some list nothing besides fruit/veg and water as ingredients. This may have something to do with the fact that they also sell chicken and meat meals, which could be contaminating other lines.

Bottom line, I would call ou to find out, not rely on Gerber reps. Can't you travel to a supermarket a little further once a month or so and stock up?

myfriends715

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 9:37 pm

gerber puts grape juice in many of their jars thats why they dont have hashgocha and their cereal does

zigi

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 9:44 pm

some of the gerber vegetable jars have an ou you have to look carefully to find them.

Rochelly

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 10:04 pm

I actually called the star k (because I had their number) because I wanted to buy the punes without a hechsher. I was told that u shldnt buy the ones without a hechsher because they make runs of non-kosher meat and chicken baby food on the same macheines and don't kasher and clean out properly in between

Annie

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 10:42 pm

it's always a red flag for me when some of the stuff from a company has a hechsher and some does not. Many of the gerber glass jarred fruit and veggies and even cereal mixed in ones have an OU but NONE of the organic or plastic containers do. You never know what else they hot-process on the same equipment. I can't ever find consistent baby food in any of the three stores I shop in (reg grocery, Target and Walmart), but between the three, I usually have enough of what my little fussbudget will eat. I have been buying a lot of the earth's balance stuff when it's on sale b/c she consistently likes that.

JollyMommy

Tue, Jul 27 2010, 1:56 am

I was in a dollar store recently that did have gerber jars with an OU. we are very makpid on what babies and kids eat kosher wise, especially since they dont have a choice..

if you're having trouble finding kosher baby food near you pm me and I could let you know which stores.

if it's money prob- it's soo easy to make your own, even just mash up a banana or very soft peach or apricot or avocado.. (you probably knew this already!)

also- whole foods has these very convenient bag like baby foods that are OK and another brand OU, my baby goes wild for them.

melbee

Tue, Jul 27 2010, 11:51 am

I agree with the above posters. IIRC, only 2nd stage Gerber jars have a hechsher, and none of the plastic ones. We did not buy any that did not, and I would advise against doing so. There are quite a few other brands that are kosher other than Beech Nut. Have you looked in non-grocery stores, like Target, Wal-Mart, Babies 'R Us, etc? A lot of those have baby aisles with baby food jars, and I know that almost all of the Wal-Mart brand ones were kosher. Those stores also carry Beech Nut and a bunch of other brands, so you'd have more kosher options. It might be worth looking into if it's a possibility where you live.