In food law, baby foods refer to industrially produced baby foods particularly designed to complement the diet and the nutritional requirements of children under three years of age. Baby foods include e.g. baby porridges and gruels, fruit and berry purees, vegetable purees, and meat/fish purees.
There are product-specific individual regulations regarding them, providing for the nutrient content of the products, for example. The purity requirements laid down for the raw materials used in the manufacture of commercial baby foods are also stricter than those applied to ordinary foods.
It is important to bear in mind that although in everyday speech all foods intended for children are easily considered to be baby foods, many of the products are not included in baby foods from the legislative point of view. Such foods can include e.g. yoghurts, milk-based drinks and juicy drinks, puddings, biscuits and breakfast products primarily marketed for children. There are no provisions for their nutrient content in the legislation. The quality and purity criteria applied to the raw materials used in their manufacture do not differ from ordinary products either.
Finnish Food Authority's website provides information about applicable legislation, as well as about requirements for composition and labelling and general safety aspects regarding baby foods. Information related to breast feeding and children's nutrition can be found on the website of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (Finland). The website of the National Nutrition Council provides information about nutrition recommendations.