Karo Bebé - Corn Syrup Marketed as Baby Supplement

By Beth Berry

Before you begin your holiday baking, I thought you might want to know about the existence of a product I stumbled upon a few months ago in a Mexican grocery.

Passing the jellies and pancake mix on my way to the dried beans, a small glass bottle with a familiar label caught my eye. It was Karo corn syrup – the kind your grandmother uses in her pecan pie – only there was something markedly different about this particular bottle. Above the familiar Karo font was a single word that I never imagined I'd see in conjunction with a brand name of one of the unhealthiest “food” products ever created. This was Karo Bebé, the truth of which was confirmed by a photo of a happy, unsuspecting baby and on the side, a baby bottle. Drop-jawed in disbelief, I picked up the bottle and read the back:

Razones para elegir Karo Bebe

• A partir de los seis meses de edad, las necesidades de energía y nutrimentos de tu bebé van a aumento, y Karo es una alternativa para complementarlos.

• Aporta energía por su contenido de hidratos de carbono libre de alergenos.
• Con Karo, la textura y sabor de los alimentos se mejora facilitando su aceptación.

• No contiene colorantes ni saborizantes artificiales.
• Sin conservadores Químicos.

“La leche materna es el mejor alimento para el bebé.”

Translation:

Reasons for Choosing Karo Baby

• From six months of age, your baby's energy and nutrient needs will increase and Karo is an alternative to complement them.
• Provides carbohydrate energy free of allergens.
• With Karo, the texture and flavor of food improves, facilitating their acceptance.
• Doesn't contain artificial colors or flavors.
• No chemical preservatives.

And at the bottom of the text, with no source to support the use of quotation marks:
“Breast milk is the best food for babies.”

I won't go into all the reasons why Karo's marketing of corn syrup as a baby supplement is so disturbing, nor how misleading their product description (at least not just now).

Just a heads up and reminder that we vote with our dollars as this holiday season approaches. I, for one, will find an alternative to Karo in the event that I am craving pecan pie.

About Beth Berry

Beth Berry is a writer, mother of four daughters and born idealist living the real life. When she's not orchestrating the household, she can be found in one of several precarious yoga poses, wandering indigenous Mayan food markets, or holed up in a sunny southern Mexican cafe with her laptop, a shade grown dark roast and a contemplative look on her face. Having lived against the grain as a baby-slinging, toddler-nursing, secondhand-shopping, wanna-be farmer for 17 years, she and her family decided to ditch the rat race for a taste of life abroad. Now, in addition to challenging conventional wisdom, she writes about her life-changing experiences working among women in extreme poverty and oppression. Keep up with her musings and adventures in imperfection at www.revolutionfromhome.com.