How We Review and Choose Products for Our Store
We’re Organic’s Best, a family-run company dedicated to doing better for babies by offering clean organic formula and baby food from Europe. Beyond our business as a retailer, we’re also a dedicated community of health-conscious parents offering honest product recommendations on our blog.
Over the course of 5 years, we have written more than 140 blog articles exploring baby care and nutrition, spent hundreds of hours researching formulas from across the globe, scrutinized scientific studies from top journals, and analyzed ingredient lists so that we can give trustworthy and reliable recommendations based on the latest scientific knowledge.
Why Trust Us
We believe that infant nutrition products must be held to the highest standards. That’s why we thoroughly evaluate the ingredient quality, nutritional content, safety, and brand reputation of each of the products we review.
Our recommendations are based on:
Expert opinions from healthcare professionals
Parent insights from our community drawing on more than 2800 Trust Pilot reviews and video testimonials
Our personal experience working with the products
We rely on information from peer-reviewed research articles as well as credible health organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to guide our research. Moreover, in the spirit of transparency, we offer a list of our scientific references at the end of each review article.
Our review articles are authored by Dr. Agustina Fernandez, who is skilled in the topic of infant nutrition and are medically reviewed by Dr. Po-Chang Hsu, a dedicated medical writer and consultant renowned for his proficiency in pediatrics.
Meet Our Writing and Medical Review Team!
Dr. Po-Chang Hsu
Medical Reviewer
M.D, M.Sc.
Dr. Hsu received his medical degree from Tufts University and holds a Master of Science degree from both Harvard and Tufts University. He is currently a full-time medical writer and consultant. Outside of the medical profession, Dr. Hsu loves to write, learn new languages, and travel.
Dr. Agustina Fernandez
Content Writer
M.D
Dr. Agustina Fernandez earned her medical degree from the prestigious Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina, and is pursuing a specialization in children's healthcare. Her research interests include breastfeeding, infant formula, and baby food. In her personal life, Dr. Fernandez is described as very chatty and outgoing, and her favorite drink of all time is Yerba Mate tea.
Dr. Bardha Citaku
Content Writer M.D
Dr. Bardha Citaku completed her medical studies at the University of Prishtina in Kosovo, where she began her journey into the field of medicine. She has since developed a career in medical research, contributing to projects with notable organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO). She is currently focused on medical consulting and research, where she uses her expertise to contribute to the advancements of the medical field. Besides medicine, Dr. Citaku enjoys reading and traveling
How We Award Performance Points to Products
We evaluate each baby formula and food based on specific evidence-backed performance points to make our product reviews as comprehensive as possible. Each performance category is assigned 1 point for a maximum potential of 10 points in total.
In the following section, we cover the criteria that we base our recommendations on and how they align with a healthy diet for little ones.
Our primary performance points for formula 🍼 include:
Our review of infant nutrition literature determined that the following criteria are important components of infant formula.
European Organic: Infants and toddlers move through important developmental stages and are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of contaminants. Following an organic diet is one way to help minimize exposure to pesticide contamination1.
Non-GMO: Although the effects of GMOs are not well understood, some evidence suggests they may have harmful effects on human health2. For this reason, we think that it is important to feed little ones with natural ingredients.
First ingredient is lactose or milk: Lactose is a naturally occurring sugar in milk and the primary carbohydrate source in breast milk that supplies babies with 40% of their energy needs. It also supports gut health and mineral absorption3.
No added sugars / artificial sweeteners: The official recommendation from the AAP is to avoid serving food and drinks containing added sugar to little ones under 2 years of age4.
ARA & DHA: ARA and DHA are long-chain omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids that are crucial for healthy cognition, vision, and immune development5.
Bonus points may be awarded to a formula for:
While we don’t consider these criteria to be absolutely essential, we do value brands that go the extra mile to create a formulation with the following exceptional points.
Probiotics: Research has shown that greater healthy gut bacteria contribute to improved immunity, metabolism, brain function, and less inflammation6. Formula enriched with probiotics is one effective method of diversifying gut microbiota in babies.
Prebiotics: Prebiotics are dietary fibers that act as an important food source for our gut flora, encouraging them to grow and flourish. Researchers found that babies fed formula with prebiotics had more similar gut metabolic activity to breastfed infants7, demonstrating that prebiotic-enriched formula can help mimic breast milk more closely.
No maltodextrin: Maltodextrin is a starch-derived carbohydrate commonly used in infant formula as a thickener, stabilizer or substitute for lactose. Overall, the scientific community8, along with the FDA and ESFA, consider maltodextrin to be safe for babies. However, maltodextrin is more highly processed than lactose and thus may not be optimal for those seeking out natural ingredients.
No starch: Starch is a complex carbohydrate, which means your little one's digestive system has to reach a certain level of maturity in order to break it down in their tummy effectively9. While it’s often a well-tolerated and satiating source of energy for older babies, it is not the gentlest option for newborns or sensitive stomachs.
No palm oil: Palm oil is included in formulas to help mimic the palmitic acid levels in breast milk. A position paper written by the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition explored the ingredient's pros and cons and concluded that palm oil may have short-term negative effects on stool consistency in formula-fed infants. However, experts believe more research is needed to better understand the effects of palm oil10.
Our primary performance points for baby food 🥣 include:
European Organic
No added sugars / artificial sweeteners
No added salt
No artificial preservatives
Healthy ingredients
Bonus points may be awarded to baby food for:
Quick Preparation
Convenient packaging
Iron-fortified
Added vitamins
Free of common allergens
If you have any questions about our products or information included in one of our reviews, please don’t hesitate to send us a message; we’re always happy to help!
References
Liu, Y., & Sam, A. G. (2022). The organic premium of baby food based on market segments. Agribusiness, 38(3), 533–556.
Prakash, D., Verma, S., Bhatia, R., & Tiwary, B. N. (2011). Risks and precautions of genetically modified organisms. ISRN Ecology (Print), 2011, 1–13.
Grenov, B., Briend, A., Sangild, P. T., Thymann, T., Rytter, M. H., Hother, A., Mølgaard, C., & Michaelsen, K. F. (2016). Undernourished children and milk lactose. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 37(1), 85–99.
Korioth, T. (2019, March 25). Added sugar in kids’ diets: How much is too much? American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved January 30, 2024, from https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/7331/Added-sugar-in-kids-diets-How-much-is-too-much?
Carlson, S. E., & Colombo, J. (2016). Docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid nutrition in early development. Advances in Pediatrics, 63(1), 453–471.
Fanos, V. (2016). Intestine Flora. In Metabolomics and Microbiomics.
Bakker-Zierikzee, A., Alles, Knol, J., Kok, F., Tolboom, J., & Bindels, J. (2005). Effects of infant formula containing a mixture of galacto- and fructo-oligosaccharides or viable Bifidobacterium animalison the intestinal microflora during the first 4 months of life. British Journal of Nutrition, 94(5), 783–790.
Clouard, C., Lannuzel, C., Bourgot, C. L., & Gerrits, W. (2020). Lactose and digestible maltodextrin in milk replacers differently affect energy metabolism and substrate oxidation: a calorimetric study in piglets. The Journal of Nutrition, 150(12), 3114–3122.
Quann, E. E., & Carvalho, R. (2018). Starch consumption patterns in infants and young children. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 66(S3).
Bronský, J., Campoy, C., Embleton, N. D., Fewtrell, M., Mis, N. F., Gerasimidis, K., Hojsak, I., Hulst, J. M., Indrio, F., Lapillonne, A., Mølgaard, C., Moltu, S. J., Verduci, E., Vora, R., & Domellöf, M. (2019). Palm oil and beta-palmitate in infant formula: A position paper by the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) Committee on Nutrition. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 68(5), 742–760.
Scroll Up