What foods should babies not eat before age 1?
Before age 1, skip honey (it can cause infant botulism), cow's milk as a drink, juice, added sugars, unpasteurized milk, cheese and juice, high-mercury fish and salty foods. Avoid choking hazards such as whole grapes, whole nuts, popcorn and chunks of hot dog or cheese. Pasteurized yogurt and cheese are fine, and peanut and egg are best introduced early.
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The no list at a glance
The list is short, and most of it comes from CDC.
| Food | Why | When it's okay |
|---|---|---|
| Honey, in any form | Can cause infant botulism, a severe food poisoning | After 12 months |
| Cow's milk as a drink | Can cause intestinal bleeding; too much protein and minerals for a baby's kidneys; lacks what babies need | After 12 months (pasteurized yogurt and cheese are fine before) |
| Juice | Sugar and tooth decay | Optional after 12 months; CDC suggests no more than 4 oz a day for ages 1 to 3 |
| Added sugars | Sweetened yogurts, cookies and sugary snacks | Not before age 2 |
| Unpasteurized milk, cheese or juice | Food safety | Avoid |
| High-mercury fish | Mercury; CDC uses the same list as in pregnancy | Avoid; choose lower-mercury fish instead |
| Salty foods | CDC advises avoiding salty foods for young children | Don't add salt to baby food |
| Choking hazards | Choking risk | Cut small or skip; the AAP keeps the riskiest from children until age 4 or older |
Honey and cow's milk: the two big ones
No honey before 12 months, not even mixed into food, water or formula, or on a pacifier. Honey can cause infant botulism, a severe food poisoning. Check labels on baby snacks and cereals too.
No cow's milk as a drink before 12 months, and never as a swap for breast milk or formula. It can cause intestinal bleeding, has too much protein and minerals for a baby's kidneys, and lacks what babies need. Pasteurized yogurt and cheese are fine; plain yogurt and cheese even add a little iodine. For the first year, the drink is breast milk or a standard iron-fortified infant formula. Don't use toddler milk for babies.
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Juice, sugar and salt
No juice before 12 months. After that it's optional, and CDC suggests no more than 4 oz a day for ages 1 to 3. The AAP's 2017 statement explains the sugar and tooth-decay concerns.
No added sugars before age 2. That includes sweetened yogurts, cookies and sugary snacks. Babies are learning what food tastes like, and the first year is a good time to get them used to vegetables and plain foods.
Go easy on salt. Don't salt your baby's food, even to add iodine, and skip salty processed snacks. Your baby gets iodine from breast milk or formula, and later from eggs, dairy and fish.
Fish: which to skip and which to serve
Fish isn't on the no list. Most fish is a great baby food: it brings DHA, iodine and protein, and CDC notes that many lower-mercury fish support brain development. What to skip is high-mercury fish: shark, swordfish, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, bigeye tuna and Gulf tilefish. Salmon, sardines, trout, pollock and canned light tuna are good choices. Flake it fine, check for bones, and serve a spoonful or two. See the best first foods for brain development.
Choking hazards
These are the foods to cut small or skip:
- Whole grapes, cherry tomatoes, berries, cherries and melon balls (chop them into tiny pieces)
- Whole or chopped nuts and seeds, and chunks or spoonfuls of nut butter
- Hot dogs, meat sticks and sausages, tough chunks of meat, chunks of cheese
- Raw carrot and apple, raisins, corn kernels
- Popcorn, chips, marshmallows, gum and hard or gummy candy
The AAP says to keep the riskiest of these from children until age 4 or older. For finger foods, cook until soft and cut pieces no bigger than ½ inch (about 1 cm). Peanut is still worth starting early, in a safe form: thin smooth peanut butter or stir it into a puree (see when to introduce eggs and peanuts).
Always seat your baby upright and stay with them while they eat. No eating in the car seat, stroller or while crawling. Ask your pediatrician what to do if your child chokes, and take an infant CPR and first-aid class (the Red Cross and American Heart Association run them) before you ever need it.
Foods that are welcome, despite the myths
Some foods parents avoid out of caution are actually encouraged.
- Peanut and egg. The best evidence points to introducing them early, not late. In the LEAP trial of high-risk babies, early peanut eaters had far less peanut allergy at age 5. Ask your pediatrician first if your baby has severe eczema or a known food allergy.
- Well-cooked eggs bring choline, protein and some iron from around 6 months.
- Lower-mercury fish brings DHA and iodine.
- Pasteurized yogurt and cheese are fine before 12 months; just avoid cheese chunks.
Not banned, but limit
- Rice products. Rice can carry arsenic. Choose oat, barley or multigrain infant cereal rather than rice cereal alone, and go easy on rice puffs, teething wafers and rice cakes. More in rice cereal and arsenic.
- The same few foods every day. FDA advises a variety of foods across food groups, which also limits exposure to contaminants from any one food.
And two things that aren't foods but belong on the list: never water down formula to stretch it, and never make your own formula, even from a recipe online. FDA warns homemade formulas can lack nutrients babies need, and it has reports of babies hospitalized with dangerously low calcium after drinking them.
Do this
- Clear honey, juice and whole grapes off your baby's menu.
- Check labels on baby cereals and snacks for honey and added sugar.
- Cut finger foods into soft pieces no bigger than ½ inch (about 1 cm).
- Seat your baby upright and stay with them at every meal and snack.
- Book an infant CPR and first-aid class before your baby starts finger foods.
When to ask your doctor
Check with your doctor or midwife first if…
- your baby has severe eczema or a known food allergy, before introducing allergy-prone foods
- your baby has trouble chewing or swallowing
- you're thinking of using toddler milk or any homemade formula
Call your doctor now if…
- your baby is choking and can't breathe, cough or cry (call 911)
- your baby has trouble breathing, swelling of the lips, tongue or face, or spreading hives after a food (call 911)
- your baby is floppy, limp or seems very ill
- your child swallowed something that might be poisonous (call Poison Help, 1-800-222-1222)
This page is general information, not medical advice. Every pregnancy and every child is different. Ask your doctor, midwife or pediatrician before changing supplements, diet or care.
Grow a Genius
In the book: Chapter 17: Feeding the Growing Brain
Chapter 17 gives you the full no list alongside what to feed instead, from iron-first solids to early allergens, and The Genius Kitchen guide adds safe first-food recipes.
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People also ask
Why can't babies have honey?
Honey can cause infant botulism, a severe food poisoning, in babies under 12 months. CDC says no honey before 12 months, not even mixed into food, water or formula, or on a pacifier. That includes honey baked into foods, so check labels on baby snacks and cereals.
Can babies have yogurt and cheese before 1?
Yes. Pasteurized yogurt and cheese are fine before 12 months. What babies shouldn't have is cow's milk as a drink or as a swap for breast milk or formula. Choose plain yogurt without added sugar, and avoid chunks of cheese, which are a choking hazard.
When can babies have juice?
Not before 12 months. After that, juice is optional, and CDC suggests no more than 4 oz a day for ages 1 to 3. The AAP points to sugar and tooth-decay concerns. Soft, whole fruit, cut small, is a better choice.
Can babies eat peanut butter?
Yes, in a safe form, and early. US guidelines encourage introducing peanut foods along with other solids, after asking your pediatrician first if your baby has severe eczema or egg allergy. Never give whole nuts or spoonfuls of peanut butter; thin smooth peanut butter or stir it into a puree.