Baby food quality fears led mum to launch business

Libby Gower - holding her son Ben - set up her baby food company 10 years ago

A mum of four with a career in the food industry has said the quality of baby food "riled" her so much she set up her own business.

Libby Gower set up Joey's Family Food in Dorchester 10 years ago following the birth of her daughter, Tilly.

A recent Panorama investigation found baby food pouches from six of the UK's leading brands were failing to meet key nutritional needs of babies and toddlers.

Ms Gower said she set up her business to offer busy parents a healthier option for their children.

She said: "I've worked from farm through to retail and worked alongside manufacturers.

"When it came to feeding Tilly - that was 10 years ago - I had a good understanding the process that these pouches had been through.

"I knew their nutritional value was low and I didn't feel they were good enough to give to my baby.

"It riled me so much, I thought something has to be done about this."

Ms Gower said "the key" to weaning was to expose children to lots of variety and flavours, which she acknowledges can be a "real challenge".

She urged parents and carers to use pouches less regularly and introduce foods in different formats, adding: "It's the texture that can lead to fussier eating."

"Iron in particular is really important because the baby's natural stores become depleted and you need to be feeding them iron-rich foods from six months," she said.

Ms Gower, whose fourth child, Ben, is now a year old, said she understood the pressure parents faced when trying to feed their children.

"When your baby's hungry, they want their food now, so you don't have time to chop up vegetables and create something new and different," she said.

"That's exactly why I set up Joey's because these are frozen meals, they are handmade, so you get that freshness that you would get if you were making it at home, and they can be ready in seconds in the microwave.

"To have the time to make food to give them the variety, I found a real struggle, so that was definitely something I wanted to include."