Keeping "emergency" baby food in a sub-zero car

Factual Questions
1

Recent snowstorms in the UK have caused real problems with the road network, leaving some people stranded for hours and hours miles from any facilities.

We’re planning a fair bit of driving over the holidays and I wanted to make sure we could cope with being stuck on a motorway for an extended period.

I’ve put together a “cold weather” bag for the car, with blankets etc and some drinks & snacks.

I have a two-year-old daughter who can be a fussy eater, so I wanted to include some jars of foodthat I know she’ll eat. However, I also want to keep this stuff in the car all the time, as the one time I forget to put it in will most likely be the time I get stuck.

Overnight the temperature in the car will regularly get below freezing and then warm up during the day (or while the car is being driven).

So the GQ bit of this is:

  • is storing unopened jars of baby food in the back of the car, where they will be frozen and unfrozen many times, a safe thing to do?

There’s also a IMHO part of this, which is:

  • what foods would you recommend for keeping in the back of the car for enforced stops in bad weather, bearing in mind the freezing/unfreezing issue?
2

Does your daughter eat solid food? Cookies, crackers and other such foods don’t have a problem with freezing.

3

In the USA, we have baby foods that are dehydrated. Your little kiddie may not like them but you probably can find one she’ll eat.

We used to keep homemade preserves outside in the garage all winter in Illinois and it got below freezing and the jars were able to withstand it.

When food and the water in in freeze it will expand a bit, but as long as you examine the jar to be sure there are no cracks you should be ok.

The texture of the food, from melting and freezing, will change somewhat and that may cause baby to not like it.

4

Hasn’t baby food switched to plastic containers instead of glass jars?

5

Ice chests, will keep food warm or cold. Keeping food in an ice chest will help keep it from freezing in cold cars. But, only for so long. After a few days in a freezing cold car all the food will freeze.

6

Thanks for responses so far.

The texture issue is less of a problem, I’m more worried about bacteria etc. The jars are sealed and pasteurised, but I’m not sure whether the seals will stand up to freezing (especially repeated cycles), as well as the health of the food itself.

I guess the same applies to cookies etc - no problem freezing them once and defrosting, but it’s the repeated cycle which I’m concerned about.

7

I think the glass jars might burst when the contents freeze.

8

I second the suggestion for cookies and crackers; I have an 18 month old son, and that is what I keep in my car for emergencies. I also have a sealed can of powdered second stage formula in the car too, so he won’t have to drink just water, though since he normally drinks milk now I am not sure he would like the taste.

9

As you say, the jars are pasteurised, so there’s no bacteria in them to start with. Even if the seal fails through repeated freeze thaw, the only way bacteria are going to get in is through the lid. Presumably the lids won’t pop off, and you’re not storing the jars in a foetid haven for pathogens, where bacteria might worm their way in through an imperfectly sealed crevice.
Pathogens tend to like it warm anyway. Even if your storage spot is teeming with salmonella it’s not going to grow much, unless you bring the things in from the car, and let them sit in the warm.

Repeated freezing does not greatly alter the nutritional content of the food.

10

Mother nature is amazing. Breast milk is always warm and on tap. :wink: We always kept cookies and crackers in the car for the babies when we traveled.

11

If she’s young enough still to be eating baby food out of jars, is she not still in nappies too? Just stick the jars in the nappy bag, which presumably you take into the house.

12

Pasteurization doesn’t kill ALL bacteria, but most.