Gerber Baby Food

Last week we began a project where we tested for the presence of certain chemicals in Gerber Baby Food Infant Meals. We found some pretty astonishing things and decided to write letters to Gerber describing what we found. Here is mine.

3 Pirate Parkway


Berea KY, 40403





October 12, 2010



START HEALTHY, STAY HEALTHY™ Resource Center

445 State St.

Fremont, MI 49413-0001



Dear START HEALTHY, STAY HEALTHY resource center,



It has come to the attention of the sophomores at Berea Community High School in Kentucky that some of the chemicals found in your baby food do not meet the nutritional value standards of most parents. We are worried that your customers are unaware of the presence of and effects of some of these chemicals found in your baby food. Infant nutrition is a serious concern among most parents, especially in a nation where obesity rates are higher than they have ever been in the United States.



We used a series of solutions that, when added to your baby food, changed the color of the product. The color change indicated the presence of polymers and the lack there of other important nutrients such as proteins and amino acids. Some of the chemicals detected in your product are large amounts of monosaccharide, (simple sugars), and disaccharides (complex sugars) that can seriously injure a baby’s health and lead to consequences later in life. Not only that, but the presence of polysaccharides (starches) and carbohydrates were extremely prevalent in your “healthy” infant meals over other important nutrients for child development.



Some of the foods we tested were bananas, mixed chicken and vegetables, peas, and potatoes. We found that in infant meals such as mixed chicken and vegetables, there was an astonishing lack of protein and in meals such as sweet potatoes, there was an over abundance of carbohydrates and starches. It is common knowledge that these things are detrimental to the health of average people, and therefore utterly destructive to the health of developing bodies as well as developing brains.



For a company whose motto is “START HEALTHY, STAY HEALTHY”, it appears that the health of your consumers is not a priority, but an option. We, the students of Berea Community School, suggest you make a few improvements in order to benefit the health of countless babies in America. Another option might be to make it clear to your customers that the food you are selling them is not of quality, but processed and lacking in vital nutrients. We suggest that you instigate these changes immediately or to somehow make amends with the thousands of babies who are already experiencing the negative effects of Gerber baby food.



Sincerely,











Olivia C. R. Jacobs