The organic certification is strictly regulated to ensure food is produced as nature intended from start to finish, without synthetic fertilisers or processes. To be certified organic, you must employ ‘whole systems organic compliance’ which means that everything from the soil the crops are grown in or harvested on, right through to the manufacturing, packaging and handling stages, complies with a comprehensive accredited organic system.

Yes! Our pouches are Australian Certified Organic (ACO). ACO Australia’s largest certifier of organic and biodynamic produce. Being responsible for more than half of the world’s organic produce, Australia has some of the most stringent testing requirements in the world for acquiring organic certification, and ACO holds international accreditation for standards of integrity, impartiality and objectivity.

A recent US study testing 168  different brands of  baby foods,  found toxic heavy metals (mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium) in 95% of  the  products  analysed¹. What about organic? Unfortunately, you can’t trust that if a product is organic it won’t contain heavy metals, heavy metals occur naturally in the environment and certain fruits and vegetables absorb more than others during the growing process, either through the soil or water. Infants are especially sensitive to toxins, so it is important to minimise exposure where possible, as overtime they can build up in the body and affect the growing brain. While it is not a regulation to test for heavy metals, we are committed to producing the safest baby food possible and therefore we voluntary test every single batch of Little Etoile Organic for mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium. 1. Jane Houlihan, MSCE, and Charlotte Brody, RN, Healthy Babies Bright Future (2019). What’s in my baby’s food? A national investigation finds 95 percent of baby foods tested contain toxic chemicals that lower babies’ IQ, including arsenic and lead. Healthy Babies Bright Futures. Available at https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ 2. Brian P. Jackson et al. (2012). Arsenic, Organic Foods, and Brown Rice Syrup, Environmental Health Perspectives, volume 120, issue 5, 2012, pages 623–626, ISSN 0091-6765, doi 10.1289/ehp.1104619 on.

Although allergies don’t affect every infant or toddler, for the 1 in 10 who are affected², it’s a scary and often life-threatening condition, which is why we consider risk prevention and clear food labelling a mandatory aspect of our role in food safety. It is important to introduce allergens to babies one at a time, in a controlled way. By choosing ‘allergen-friendly’ your baby is only exposed to allergens in a safe and controlled environment. 1. Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) (2019). Food Allergy. Available at https://www.allergy.org.au/images/pcc/ASCIA_PCC_Food_Allergy_2019.pdf

We test every single finished batch using an accredited laboratory to ensure our products are free from the 8 most common allergens, as determined by the Australian & NZ Food Authority (FSANZ): Egg, gluten, milk (except in custard varieties),  peanut, soy,  crustacea, sesame and fish. At Little Étoile Organic® we have a strict allergen management program in place that complies to The Allergen Bureau’s VITAL program (Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labelling) and involves testing during the manufacturing process and further testing when each batch is finished, to ensure cross contamination has not occurred.

Mum life is busy and there isn’t always time to prepare meals from scratch. Our pouches provide a ready-to-eat nutritious meal or snack that is convenient and easy. Whether you are heading out and need a quick and mess-free meal to take with you and need a helping hand at home for mealtime, our pouches can be used as on their own or added to other foods such as yoghurt, pasta or rice to complete a meal.

Our pouches are designed for babies and toddlers from 6+ months.

Our pouches are designed for babies and toddlers from 6+ months.

Once opened, refrigerate at 1-4°C and use within 2 days.

Store unopened below 25°C in a cool, dry and clean place.

You can serve the pouches at room temperature, warm (place pouch in a jug of warm water), cool (place pouch in fridge) or frozen (place fruit flavours in the freezer for a cool treat on a hot day!).

It’s important to only start introducing solid foods once your baby is ready, you will know when they are ready once you notice that your little one can hold their head up straight, watches you carefully as you eat and reaches out for your food. You can start introducing food pouches as soon as your baby is ready to start other solids foods.

Our products are proudly made in Australia.

Fruit acids such as citric acid and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) are naturally occurring in fruits. We add these into our pouches to naturally preserve the fruit purees and ensure they keep fresh (just like you would add a squeeze of lemon to an avocado to keep it from browning).

Our recipes are predominantly free from added sugar and use the natural sweetness of fruits and vegetables where possible. The only variety with a touch of sugar added is our Vanilla Custard, as this pouch is designed as a dessert, not an every day food we added a small amount of sugar to balance the flavours and make the most tasty vanilla custard that babies love!

Yes, our pouches are free from BPA and phthalates.

We test each batch after the heat treating process to ensure nutrients are retained after the process. While some small losses do occur due to heat treating, the nutrients still remain in high concentrations.

Our Apple Banana & Pear, Pear Mango & Banana and Sweet Potato Pumpkin and Corn varieties are all vegan friendly.

We are Australian products manufactured with Halal Ingredients in compliance with Halal processes by the Australian Halal Food Services (except for chicken, veggies, and brown rice flavor)