Ready Brek

[MattMcG93]

Hey everyone, a concerned first time dad here looking for some advice and/or reassurance.

My wife and I have been alternating between Weetabix and Ready Brek for our nearly 8 month old’s breakfast since he was 6 months.

Today (when I was giving him his Ready Brek!), I came across an article online about a baby who died in the 90’s after being given too many adult foods that were high in salt (Ready Brek being one food that was mentioned in the article.) Let’s just say he didn’t finish his breakfast this morning and I hastily swapped the Ready Brek for some fruit instead.

Was it wrong of us to give him Ready Brek? We prepared if as it says on the box (5 desert spoons of the oats & 150ml of milk, using his Neocate milk as he has CMA.) We’re absolutely paranoid now after reading that article.

Any advice etc. would be much appreciated

I gave my DS Ready Brek from about 7 months. It hardly has any salt in it according to the packet. Perhaps they've changed the ingredients since then. You could just give baby normal porridge oats instead it you're worried.

Ready brek has never contained salt and sugar. I'm sure the baby involved was being given instant mash and gravy and that ready brek was wrongly attributed as being the cause of the high salt levels in the baby.

P.s. I think it was a 3 month old baby too that was being given high salt instant meals

Also I think I've found the article. The baby was 3 months old! I think that was the problem not the ready brek.

I have a friend with no fingers who lost them because of a high salt diet as a baby. I would give baby cereal only

https://www.marketingweek.com/ready-brek-acts-to-clear-death-salt-charges/

I would be hesitant to give a toddler either tbh. Wheatabix is awful IMO. And ready brek is easy to make an equivalent yourself.
I make my son smooth porridge with blended up oats, flaxseed and sweetened with pureed or mashed fruit.

Weetabix is low sugar and salt and ready brek has no added sugar/salt

We blitzed up regular porridge oats to make a powder and it had the same consistency as ready brek but without whatever extras are in it. We put a load of oats in the food processor and made enough for like 2 weeks so it wasn't any more difficult each morning

Although just looking at the ready brek ingredients there's nothing other than oats, flour and added vitamins so nothing bad it seems!

Ready brek is literally oats and vitamins/minerals. There is no salt or sugar added and they have never had them added.

Honestly the ones in faux horror over perfectly adequate foods. Give over.

Fuck all wrong with them.

The amount of salt in weetabix is absolutely minuscule, it's probably about a tenth of a teaspoon if that.

If some people want to piss about grinding down oats or whatever that's absolutely fine, but there is nothing harmful in these foods.

Yes this, I had babies in the 90s and this poor baby was on the news it was neglected and fed too much salty foods poor thing had kidney failure , the story has maybe been diluted over the years to just "ready brek"

What @fluffypuffyrug said!

Absolutely no problem giving ready brek. Like others have said there is no added salt. You can make it a bit more interesting by adding some fruit like chopped banana or some cut up berries.

Gently OP, could you not read the ingredients and nutritional content on the box? This is a good habit to get into.

The advice for babies under one is 1g of salt a day.

Hi,
just to say I have some personal experience with that story as working with agencies involved in the case some years after. The baby was subject of neglect, it’s diet one factor of the neglect.

However ready break is a processed food, you would be much better giving baby pure oats, organic if you’re able to do so, as PP said you can blend them if needed but baby should be fine with the oats as they are.

I just did a search it also states the baby was 3 months old. Why don't people read things properly.

OP just to say I have found mumsnet to be a horrible place sometimes, please ignore the nasty responses you’re clearly concerned and seeking advice which is what this forum used to be for, now it seems it’s a platform for people to speak to others however they please.

ready brek and wheatabix are both highly processed.

Get into the habit of reading the list of ingredients of whatever you are buying going forward.

The reporting on that case was bizarre. Ready Brek (although unsuitable for a baby of three months) doesn’t contain salt and (as far as I can tell from this) didn’t at the time the poor baby died. It’s fine to give to babies at the appropriate age. For some reason Ready Brek was the food mentioned in the headlines of that case rather than instant mashed potatoes and gravy granules which do contain high amounts of salt.

Ready has less salt per 100g than Weetabix (0.03g vs 0.28g)

Ready brek isn't high salt at all.

I haven't seen anyone be nasty. Which posts are you talking about?

The recipe was altered after that death have always believed..