Food safety is key to your baby’s health, particularly when melamine has been found exceeding the safety level in many milk products recently. To address public concern, the Hong Kong Government has sampled a number of products to test out whether they contain melamine that threatens people’s health. Healthy Times’ Whole Grain Cereals for Baby (Oatmeal, Barley, Brown Rice and Mixed Grain) and Teddy Puffs for Toddlers have been sampled and the Government has just announced that they are safe on October 11, 2008 In fact, all Healthy Times ingredients, are produced and manufactured in the US.

External tests are always reassuring. Healthy Times has been certified organic since the beginning of the National Organic Program, providing safe, clean products for 28 years. That means you can be guaranteed that there are no pesticides, no GMO ingredients and no harmful elements in all of Healthy Times’ products. Each and every ingredient is listed on the label. There are no hidden ingredients.

What makes Healthy Times different is that it follows stringent internal procedures to assure that its products are safe, healthy and meet the nutritional needs of your baby and toddler. So what are these procedures?

1. Seeds are sampled and tested to make sure that those that contain genetically modified ingredients are ruled out. There is no mystery in the ingredients; they are not altered in any way that may become a hidden threat to your baby.

2. Soil and field are inspected and tested regularly to ensure that harmful pesticides or chemicals are never used. Their field can even take as long as three years to prepare for organic growing. Non-organic ingredients can have traces of pesticides. Therefore it is important that your baby is only fed with certified organic foods. By choosing Healthy Times, you can be assured that your baby is safe from carcinogenic chemicals such as lindane and ddt.

3. Processors are audited and inspected to maintain the highest standards possible. Healthy Times follows strict regulations in storing and handling organic ingredients to produce the final products. They also adopt allergen level sanitation procedures to help protect your baby from any allergic threats.

4. Ingredients are tested to meet Healthy Times’ specifications on variety, size, taste, and color for the enjoyment and health of your baby. For example, Country Apples uses Gala, Fuji, and Golden Delicious apples as ingredients so that your baby gets a delicious blend with the highest vitamin content. They also choose Diana Sweet Potatoes for its taste and high Vitamin A value. Healthy Times’ grains are grown at family farms. They use whole grain so that your baby can benefit from the vitamins and minerals in the hull of the grain and its natural fiber. In addition, different varieties of premium rice are used in Healthy Times’ baby foods which include jasmine rice, brown rice, and wild rice.

5. Food allergens are eliminated to avoid causing allergies. Healthy Times Baby Foods are guaranteed free of soy, eggs, nuts, and dairy contents.

6. US Pediatrician recommendations are valued in order that your baby gets the right nutrition. In addition to iron, vitamins and minerals recommended by pediatricians in the US for healthy growth and development of babies are also added to Healthy Times Baby Cereals. No fillers are added to the baby foods and they will never use water as the first ingredients.

In short, it is Healthy Times’ concern for your baby’s health and growth as well as appetite that makes it stand out in the market. Because of the high standards, Healthy Times has been trusted by mums for 28 years since its foundation in 1980, and recommended by hospitals such as Miami Children's Hospital and pediatricians in the United States.

Article from Natural Concepts (www.healthytimes.hk).