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Welcome to Lesson 5: Reimbursable meat and meat alternates for infants.
The Meat/Meat Alternate section is in Appendix C. This component is part of the lunch and supper meal pattern starting at 8 months.
Meat and meat alternates, infant cereal or a combination of the two must be served at these meals. With the
exception of cheese, these components tend to be good sources of iron.
Reimbursable meat/meat alternates include (1) cheese, such as American, Colby, Cheddar, (2) cheese food or cheese spread,
(3) cooked dry beans or peas, (4) commercial plain strained or pureed baby food meats with meat or poultry as the first ingredient, (5)
cottage cheese, (6) egg yolk, (7) meat, fish and poultry that are lean and without bones or
skin, (8) Gerber 2nd Foods, and (9) meats that are meat and gravy mixtures.
All meat/meat alternates must be of appropriate consistency and texture for the individual infant.
The serving sizes are not the same for the different foods so be sure to refer to the
meal pattern chart when planning portion sizes.
These are examples of plain beef, poultry and fish. If reimbursable, the same meat/meat alternate served to older children can be
served to infants if the texture is modified for the developmental skills of the infant.
Gerber 2nd Foods meats which are meat & gravy mixtures are reimbursable.
Non-reimbursable meat and meat alternates include: baby food combination dinners in a jar, baby food meat sticks or finger sticks (they
look like miniature hot dogs), bacon, bologna, chicken nuggets, and other combination dinners.
The products shown here are meat sticks, pasta pick ups, and turkey and rice dinner. Non-reimbursable products may not always
include the word dinner on the label, but they are a mixture of two or more different components. The problem with mixtures is
that you don’t know how much of each ingredient is in a serving, so you don’t know if meal pattern requirements have been met.
As the baby gets older, some of these may be served as extras if the parent wants non- reimbursable products to be served.
However, these products tend to be lower in nutrients than single ingredient foods. Single
ingredient foods can be mixed together and counted as reimbursable meal components.
Additional non-reimbursable meat/meat alternates include: cured meats, dehydrated dinners, egg whites, fat trimmed from meat,
canned fish with bones, fish high in mercury (such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish), fish sticks, fried meats, home
canned meats, and cured hot dogs (they are cured and a choking hazard).
Continuing from the non reimbursable list are: cured luncheon meats, nuts, nut butters such as peanut butter, raw or undercooked
eggs, salami, sausage, seeds and seed butters, any kind of shellfish: shrimp, lobster,
crab, crawfish, scallops, oysters, clams, skin trimmed from meat, tofu and yogurt.
Remember that cheese dip, cheese product, imitation cheese, and powdered cheese are not
reimbursable. Be sure to read the label carefully before purchasing.
Some additional non-reimbursable foods and additives include: artificial sweeteners, caffeinated drinks, any kind of candy or chips,
chocolate or cocoa, coffee, desserts in jars, commercial and home-made desserts, drinks with artificial sweeteners, energy
drinks, honey (as it can cause infant botulism), added pepper and salt, soft drinks, sport drinks, added sugar, syrups and
sweeteners, sweetened and unsweetened tea, and water.
This concludes the lessons on Infant Feeding. If you have questions, please contact your CACFP consultant or the State
Agency. Contact information can be found in the front of the manual.