Foods to Avoid
- salt (including stock cubes, gravy and other high salt foods, sauces and seasoning)
- sugar (including fruit juice and fruit drinks)
- honey (may contain bacteria leading to infant botulism. Can be introduced at 12 months)
- whole nuts (choke hazard. Can be introduced at 5 years.)
- raw jelly cubes (choke hazard)
- low-fat foods (fat is an important source of calories and some vitamins)
- saturated fat (such as crisps, biscuits, cakes)
- shark, swordfish and marlin (due to mercury levels which can effect the nervous system)
- raw shellfish (high risk of food poisoning)
- raw eggs or lightly cooked eggs (unless they have the red “British Lion Mark” stamped on them which means they are safe to give raw or lightly cooked.
Hen’s eggs without the Lion Mark, duck, goose and quail eggs should be cooked until both the white and yolk are solid)
Information about Fish
In addition to the above information about fish to avoid completely there is guidance on the number of portions of fish which should be followed
Oily Fish
- Women who are breastfeeding should eat no more than 2 portions of oily fish per week
- Girls (babies and children) should eat no more than 2 portions of oily fish per week
White Fish
You can offer as many portions of white fish per week as you want except for the following which may contain similar levels of pollutants as oily fish:
- sea bream
- sea bass
- turbot
- halibut
- rock salmon (also known as dogfish, flake, huss, rigg or rock eel)
Information about Salt
Babies
0 - 1 year < 1g salt a day
Babies under the age of 1 should have less than 1g of salt per day because their kidneys are not fully developed to process it. Watch out for salt levels in bread, cheese, canned and processed foods.
Toddlers and Children
The maximum amount of salt children should have depends on their age:
1 to 3 years – 2g salt a day (0.8g sodium)
4 to 6 years – 3g salt a day (1.2g sodium)
7 to 10 years – 5g salt a day (2g sodium)
11 years and over – 6g salt a day (2.4g sodium)
Do not confuse sodium and salt
Some food labels may only state the sodium content rather than the salt content.
To convert sodium to salt you need to multiply the sodium by 2.5
1g of sodium per 100g is 2.5g of salt per 100g
High-Salt Foods
Avoid offering these to baby and be aware of the high salt levels when giving in small portions to toddlers
anchovies
bacon
cheese
gravy granules
ham
olives
pickles
prawns
salami
salted and dry-roasted nuts
salt fish
smoked meat and fish
soy sauce
stock cubes
yeast extract
Foods that can be high in salt
The salt levels in some foods varies from one brand to another so check the labels
These foods include:
bread products such as crumpets, bagels and ciabatta
pasta sauces
crisps
pizza
ready meals
soup
sandwiches
sausages
tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and other sauces
breakfast cereals
