Some organic foods may be ‘transitional’, or labelled as ‘in conversion’. It takes a minimum of three years of transition to obtain organic accreditation. This can be a very difficult time for farmers as their productivity levels fall and they cannot yet sell their products as certified organic and earn higher prices. Supermarkets will pay the farmers a smaller premium and sell the goods for less than the price of certified organic products. While these foods may not be fully certified, they may still be more beneficial than non-organic alternatives.

A good idea is to look at joining or creating a ‘box scheme’ with people in your area or with your colleagues at work. This is where an organic farm delivers a boxed selection of available organic fruit and vegetables to a central location, usually on a weekly basis. What makes shopping in South Africa great is that all the major retailers are developing the ranges within allocated organic areas.

Good quality organic frozen vegetables may contain even higher levels of nutrients than fresh equivalents that have been badly stored.

then always make sure you wash and peel all fruits and vegetables where possible. But never stop feeding them to your baby. They are a crucial part of your growing baby’s diet.

Biological farmers grow their crops in a more sustainable manner than conventional farmers. They use fewer pesticides and fertilizers than conventional farmers, and try to develop healthier soils by increasing organic matter and biological activity. However, they still use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, hormones and herbicides, and crops are not produced to certain formal standards, like organic farmers. Because of the reduced impact on the environment, biological farming can be seen as a stepping stone towards organic farming. As a consumer, however, you have no guarantee of biological practices, as you do via the certification process of organic products.

The ingredients in any packaged food are listed in order, with the biggest ingredients first. If there is a thickener somewhere on the list, such as modified maize starch, rice starch, wheat starch, gelatine, carob gum, xantham gum, or just ‘thickener’, you have a jar of babyfood that does not offer optimum nutrition. Also look out for an excess of additives and unnecessary flavourings. A rule of thumb is, if there is anything in the food that you can’t pronounce or don’t know, don’t buy it.