Which mineral water is suitable for preparing baby food?
First of all, we would like to mention that we are neither doctors nor drinking water experts. What is written is based on our own experience and research.
New parents don’t want to go wrong with their newborn. In addition to a lot of love and security, nutrition is also of central importance for the healthy development of the infant. It is scientifically proven that breast milk is the best for the baby. But there are many different reasons why a mother cannot or does not want to breastfeed. In this case, fortunately, there is the pre food. The milk powder is dissolved in water. In this blog post, we provide information about suitable mineral water for the preparation of pre food/follow-up milk.
Image source: LIINI GmbH / Detail step-by-step instructions LIINI® 1.0
Polluted tap water
Our drinking water is one of the most strictly controlled foods and is therefore more suitable for baby nutrition than already packaged mineral water from the supermarket. But you’ve probably heard of contaminated tap water in the media. In rural areas in particular, tap water is polluted by the fertilizers and pesticides used by agriculture, such as chlorothalonil. Chlorothalonil is a fungicide that is used against fungal attack, especially in grain cultivation. It has been banned in the European Union and Switzerland since the beginning of 2020. Nevertheless, this agent still pollutes the groundwater over large areas. For this reason, it is important to clarify the quality of the drinking water with the municipality where you live. If necessary, a drinking water test can also be carried out by Ivario, for example. This water test examines the tap water for the most important parameters and indicates a possible health threat from contaminated drinking water. Basically, the water from the tap for newborns should be boiled due to possible germs. In Switzerland that is
Tap water of very high quality both in terms of chemical composition and germ load. It can therefore be used without hesitation for the production of baby bottles. In Switzerland, therefore, the water does not necessarily have to be boiled beforehand. Cold tap water can simply be used to prepare baby food (warm tap water could be contaminated with germs). Personally, we always use cold tap water to prepare the pre-nutrition. The base temperature for a cold set tap is approximately between 18 to 25°C depending on how deep the pipes are buried. If the tap water is too contaminated based on a drinking water test performed, purchased mineral water can be used to prepare the baby food. But which of the countless mineral waters is suitable for this?
Which mineral water to use?
Only low-sodium mineral water should be used to prepare baby food, because too much sodium can be harmful to an infant’s small kidneys, as babies’ water balance cannot yet process too many minerals. In Germany there are maximum levels of sodium, nitrates and sulfates for the preparation of baby food. These are as follows:
Sodium content:<20 mg/L
Nitrate content:<10 mg/L
Sulfate content:<240 mg/L
In some cases, for the convenience of the purchaser, the mineral bottles indicate whether the water is suitable for the preparation of
infant formula is suitable, such as the Evian brand.
Breast milk can also be contaminated by foods rich in pollutants that the mother has consumed. Fruit and vegetables often turn out to be pesticide bombs. Is it therefore worth switching to organic food to do something good for our health and that of our children? Incidentally, this topic is also the subject of the latest experiment by Pro Sieben report Jenke von Wilmsdorff on November 1, 2021. His experiments are very exciting and make you think.
Microplastics
Another big issue is microplastic pollution. In general, less microplastic was found in German tap water than in purchased mineral water, as the sewage treatment plants remove most of the plastic particles. But what about baby bottles, which are often made of polypropylene, or PP for short? Researchers have found in various studies that baby bottles made of the plastic polypropylene can release millions of microplastic particles when heated to high temperatures. The infant bottles are placed in boiling water for several minutes for sterilization. Subsequently, hot water is usually poured into the bottles to prepare the infant formula. The hotter, the higher the probability that microplastic particles will be dissolved out of the PP plastic and thus get into the baby’s food. It is estimated that a baby who is bottle-fed only ingests 1.5 million microparticles per day!
For this reason, we switched to glass vials for safety. Glass baby bottles can also be found in the assortment of the most popular bottle brands such as MAM, NUK or Philips Avent and are made of so-called borosilicate glass, which is much more stable than normal glass. Borosilicate glass brings with it a number of advantages. Due to its chemical resistance, borosilicate glass is the best glass for food storage (as evidenced by relevant studies). It does not contain any chemicals or substances hazardous to health and, moreover, it is tasteless and does not take on any odors, tastes or discolorations. However, with the LIINI bottle warmer, using polypropylene baby bottles is not a problem, because unlike conventional bottle warmers, the milk is not heated in a hot water bath. The liquid is heated gently and only to the desired temperature of 37° / 40° / 45°C with the built-in stainless steel heating plate. Up to these temperatures, particles usually do not come off yet. Our products are also free of harmful plastic (BPA-free) and have been both CE and RoHS certified.
