Can Babies Eat Pork?

Pork is the culinary definition for domestic pig meat. Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia and being domesticated early on, around 13000 BC made them the most usually consumed meat in the world. Pork is eaten freshly cooked, but it also comes in various cured forms like ham, smoked pork, bacon or sausage.

Fresh meat can be produced from most of the pig, while a suckling pigs’ body can be roasted and consumed full. One of the most commonly used ingredients worldwide for sausages is pork. It is not only used in Europe to prepare chorizos, Cumberland sausages and salamis, but also in America in their famous hot dogs. The results of pickling with salt or smoking pork meat are the processed pork products like ham and bacon.

Pork is high in fats, proteins, vitamins B6, B12 and vitamin D. It is a good source of phosphorus, zinc, magnesium and iron. Pork is also known to carry many diseases like trichinosis, pigbel or pork tapeworm, and it is dangerous to be eaten uncooked or undercooked.

When Can Pork Be Introduced Into A Babies Diet?

Pediatricians recommend introducing pork into a baby’s diet starting at the age of 8 months, but if your baby starts eating solids earlier on, at the age of 6 months, it is safe to give him pork. Attention must be paid to how much you leave pork meat in the refrigerator, if you choose to prepare it for your baby. Pork meat’s refrigerator life is of 1-2 days tops.  Pork liver is a great  choice for adding iron and vitamin A to your baby’s diet, but too much liver can be harmful for a baby’s organism, so you should limit serving pork liver to your baby.

Is It Safe To Offer Processed Pork To Your Baby?

Pork sausage can be given to babies at the age of 12-14 months old. It can be a choking hazard, if not cooked well and cut to the appropriate sizes.

Pork & Green Beans

Ingredients: 100g lean and tender pork or even pork mince, carefully cut into 1cm pieces, 100g peeled and diced potato, 100g peeled and diced carrot, 75g trimmed and sliced green beans, 1 pinch of dried sage, 300ml water.

Put the pork, potato, carrot and sage into a pan and pour the water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the green beans, then cook for about 10 minutes, until all vegetables are cooked through. Transfer them into a food processor and blend until you get the desired consistency.