[8] It also increases the risk of choking (inability to breathe due to food stuck in the airway), strain on the kidneys, and gastroenteritis (a painful inflammation of the gut that can cause vomiting and diarrhea).

[9] Experts advising the World Health Assembly have provided evidence that introducing solids earlier than six months increases babies' chances of illness, without improving growth.

The early introduction of complementary foods may satisfy the hunger of the infant, resulting in less frequent breastfeeding and ultimately less milk production in the mother.

A small group of older infants in the American study needed more iron and zinc, such as from iron-fortified baby foods.

[15] A substantial proportion of toddlers and preschoolers exceeded the upper recommended level of synthetic folate, preformed vitamin A, zinc, and sodium (salt).

Around 6 months of age, babies may begin to feed themselves (picking up food pieces with hands, using the whole fist, or later the pincer grasp [the thumb and forefinger]) with help from older family members or caregivers.

[16] It is important to follow proper sanitation methods when preparing homemade baby food such as washing and rinsing vegetables or fruit, as well as the cooking and packaging materials that will be used.

Food may need to be minced or pureed for young babies, or cooked separately without the salt, intense spices, or sugar that the family chooses to eat.

They may also engage in counterproductive behaviors, such as offering appetite-suppressing milk or other favorite foods as an alternative, or trying to force or bribe the child into eating.

[20] Babies may be started directly on normal family food if attention is given to choking hazards; this is called baby-led weaning.

[26] These include juice, cereal, small microwaveable meals, baked goods, and other foods that have been formulated and marketed for toddlers.

In the late 1940s, Gerber Products Company and Beech-Nut produced special cookbooks to promote the sale of commercial baby foods for use by elderly, sick, or disabled people.

[29] In developed countries, babies are now often started with commercially produced iron-fortified infant cereals,[9] and then move on to mashed fruits and vegetables.

On the contrary, in developing countries, breastfeeding is more widely accepted and socially tolerated in public, thus creating a societal contrast.

Amy Bentley, author of Inventing Baby Food, talks about how infant feeding reflects one's "position in the postwar era of the American Century" because in developed countries, families are able to purchase processed baby foods to feed their children, whereas in developing country, natural breastfeeding is more popular.

Other commercial baby food manufacturers include H. J. Heinz Company, Nestlé, Nutricia, Organix and Unilever.

An example of this is annaprashan, a Hindu ritual where the infant is fed a sweetened rice porridge, usually blessed, by an elder family member.

[26] In 2011, Nestlé France decided to recall a batch of P'tit pot baby food as a precautionary measure after a customer reportedly found glass shards in one of their jars.

[40] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is required by law to ensure that pesticide residues do not harm babies and children.

The most common pesticide residues found in the baby foods were acetamiprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide that is known to be harmful to humans and bees, and captan, a fungicide of the phthalimide class that has been correlated to cancer.