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Crediting Store-Bought 

Combination Baby Foods

in the Child and Adult Care

Food Program

Food and Nutrition Service

Combination baby foods are foods that include a mixture of two or more foods, such as meat and 

vegetables. Under certain circumstances, these foods may be counted toward a reimbursable infant 

meal or snack in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

Before serving a store-bought combination baby food, check with your State agency or sponsoring 

organization. It may require you to have the baby food packaging, a Product Formulation Statement, 

or other form of documentation to show how the food credits toward the CACFP infant meal pattern.

*For information on the CACFP infant meal pattern, please see the “Feeding Infants in the Child 

and Adult Care Food Program” guide at fns.usda.gov/tn/feeding-infants-child-and-adult-carefood-program. 

 FNS-873 September 2020

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

In the CACFP infant meal pattern*, amounts of food served at meals and snacks are shown as 

ranges, such as 0 to 2 tablespoons. This range lets you introduce new foods slowly when the infant is 

developmentally ready. Once a baby is regularly eating a food, offer the infant the full amount of the 

food (the uppermost range). 

Combination baby foods should be offered only after the infant has been introduced to the individual 

ingredients in the combination food. For example, before an infant is given a chicken and vegetable 

combination baby food, the infant should have already been introduced to both chicken and the 

vegetable individually as single component foods. More information on the introduction of foods is 

available at fns.usda.gov/tn/feeding-infants-child-and-adult-care-food-program. 

How Much of the Combination Baby Food Needs to be Offered?

Since infants eating combination baby foods have already shown that they are developmentally 

ready and accepting of each food in the combination baby food, you must ensure that the 

combination baby food package provides the full, required amount of the food component. If it 

does not, you must offer more food from that component to meet the full amount of the food. 

Remember, this amount must be offered to the infant, but the infant does not have to eat all of it.

United States Department of Agriculture
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How Do I Credit Combination Baby Foods?

Follow the steps below to see how combination baby foods count toward a reimbursable meal or snack. 

Look for the creditable ingredient(s) in the baby food. What component(s) do the 

ingredient(s) credit toward?

The charts below and on page 3 show some common ingredients that are and are not creditable in 

the CACFP infant meal pattern. Although there are ingredients that may not be creditable, if there 

is at least one creditable component, the combination baby food may be offered.

Creditable

Food Item Food Component

Beans Grains/Meats/Meat Alternates or Vegetables/Fruit

Cheese (natural or processed) Grains/Meats/Meat Alternates

Fin fish and shellfish Grains/Meats/Meat Alternates

Fruits (not freeze-dried, not juice) Vegetables/Fruit

Iron-fortified infant cereal* Grains/Meats/Meat Alternates

Meats (beef, pork) Grains/Meats/Meat Alternates

Poultry (chicken, turkey) Grains/Meats/Meat Alternates

Ready-to-Eat Cereal Grains (creditable at snack only)

Vegetables (not freeze-dried, not juice) Vegetables/Fruit

Yogurt (not soy yogurt) Grains/Meats/Meat Alternates

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Breakfast, Lunch, Supper*

• Grains/Meats/Meat Alternates: 1⁄2 oz eq (4 tbsp) iron-fortified infant cereal or 4 tbsp meat,

fish, poultry, whole eggs, cooked dry beans or peas; or 1⁄2 cup (4 oz) yogurt or cottage

cheese; or a combination.

• Vegetables/Fruit: 2 tbsp vegetable, fruit, or both.

Snack*

• Grains: 1⁄2 oz eq (4 tbsp) infant cereal, 1⁄2 oz eq of bread/bread-like items, 1⁄4 oz eq ready-toeat breakfast cereal, or 1⁄4 oz eq crackers.

• Vegetables/Fruit: 2 tablespoons fruit, vegetable or a combination of both.

*You must also offer a baby breastmilk and/or iron-fortified infant formula at breakfast, lunch, supper,

and snack.

*At snack, iron-fortified infant cereal counts toward the grains component, as there is no required

meats/meat alternates component at snack.

For more information on creditable foods in the infant meal pattern, see “Appendix F: Infant Foods List”

in the “Feeding Infants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program” guide at fns.usda.gov/tn/feedinginfants-child-and-adult-care-food-program.

Required Amounts of Food Components at Meals and Snacks

Look for combination baby foods that are made with few or no non-creditable ingredients. This 

will help ensure the infant gets the nutrition he or she needs for growth and development. 
 Not Creditable

Food Item

Barley Nuts and seeds

Cooked grains Nut and seed butters

Dried or powdered cheese* Oats

Freeze-dried vegetables and fruit (e.g., banana) Quinoa

Granola Rice

Macaroni and other pastas Soy yogurt

Millet Wheat

Mixed grains

*According to the Food and Drug Administration, dried or powdered cheese does not meet the

definition of “cheese.”

2 Does the combination baby food only 

include ingredients from one food 

component? 

• Yes. If the combination baby food

only has ingredients from one food

component, go to Step 4. You can

also see Example #1 (Page 5) on

how to credit this food.

• No. Go to Step 3.

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Contains:

1/3 sweet potato

1⁄4 apple

1/8 cup corn
4

3

Compare the amount of each food component in the container with 

the amount required in the CACFP infant meal pattern.

• If the food has more than one ingredient from the same component, add the volume 

(cups, tbsp, tsp, etc.) of the ingredients together to see the total amount from the food 

component.

• If the volume (cups, tbsp, tsp, etc.) of ingredients that credit toward a food component 

is less than the required amount for that food component, additional foods are needed. 

Is the amount of each creditable ingredient listed on the food container as a unit of volume 

(i.e., cups, tablespoons (tbsp), or teaspoons (tsp), etc.)?

• Yes. If the amount of each ingredient is listed as a unit of 

volume, such as cups, tbsp, tsp, etc., go to Step 4. You can 

also see Example #2 (Page 5) on how to credit this food.

• No. If the package does not list the volume or 

percentage of each creditable ingredient, then you 

will need more information from the manufacturer, 

such as a Product Formulation Statement. For more 

information on a PFS, see fns.usda.gov/sites/default/

files/resource-files/manufacturerPFStipsheet.pdf.

• No. Is the amount of each of the ingredients 

listed as a percentage of the total weight? If so, 

you may need to calculate the amount of each 

ingredient to determine the number of tbsp, 

tsp, etc., or request more information from the 

manufacturer. See Example #3 on page 6.

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3 teaspoons (3 tsp) = 1 tablespoon (tbsp)

 1/8 cup = 2 tablespoons (tbsp) cup = 4 tablespoons (tbsp)

If the package lists amounts in teaspoons 

or cups, see the information below for how 

many tablespoons are in that amount.

Converting to Tablespoons

=

= =

Ingredients:

65% organic bananas, 

30% water, 3% organic 

oat flour, 1% organic 

barley flakes, 0.277% 

organic cinnamon, 0.1% 

organic lemon juice 

concentrate.

Contains:

Beef

Carrot

Macaroni

Peas

Granola with Banana

and Cinnamon

How Do I Credit Combination Baby Foods? (continued)

Contains:

4 Tbsp. Sweet Potato

3 tsp. Turkey

2 Tbsp. Cooked Grains

4oz (113g)
5 

Let's Practice

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Example 1: Sweet Potato, Apple, & Corn

Step 1. Look for the creditable ingredients. What 

component(s) do the ingredient(s) credit toward?

The creditable ingredients are sweet potato, apple, and 

corn. All the ingredients credit toward the vegetables/fruit 

component.

Step 2. Does the combination baby food only include 

ingredients from one food component? 

Yes. Sweet potato, apple, and corn are all creditable 

ingredients from the vegetables/fruit component. There 

are no other ingredients in this baby food. 

Step 3. Is the amount of each creditable ingredient 

listed on the food container as a unit of volume (i.e., 

cups, tablespoons (tbsp), or teaspoons (tsp), etc)? 

This food only contains ingredients from one food 

component (vegetables/fruit), so we do not need to know 

the amount of each ingredient. 

Step 4. Compare the amount of each food component 

in the container with amount required in the CACFP 

infant meal pattern.

The infant meal pattern requires that you offer 2 tbsp of vegetables/fruit at CACFP meals 

and snacks. Because this food only contains ingredients from one food component, you 

can offer an infant 2 tbsp of this food to fulfill the vegetables/fruit component. 

Example 2: Turkey & Sweet Potato Dinner

Step 1. Look for the creditable ingredients. What 

component(s) do the ingredient(s) credit toward?

The creditable ingredients are sweet potato and turkey. 

Sweet potatoes credit toward the vegetables/fruit 

component and turkey credits toward the grains/meats/

meat alternates component component. 

This food also contains cooked grains, which are not 

creditable in the infant meal pattern.

Step 2. Does the combination baby food only include ingredients from one food 

component? 

No. This food has ingredients that credit toward two different food components. 

Contains:

4 Tbsp. Sweet Potato

3 tsp. Turkey

2 Tbsp. Cooked Grains

Ingredients: sweet 

potato puree, apple 

puree, yellow corn.

Contains:

1/3 sweet potato

1⁄4 apple

1/8 cup corn
6 6

Example 3: Granola With Banana and Cinnamon

Step 1. Look for the creditable ingredients. What 

component(s) do the ingredient(s) credit toward?

The creditable ingredient is banana. Bananas credit toward the 

vegetables/fruit component. 

Step 2. Does the combination baby food only include 

ingredients from one food component?

No. The food also contains water, oat flour, barley flakes, and 

other items that do not credit toward the vegetables/fruit 

component. 

Step 3. Is the amount of each creditable ingredient listed on 

the food container as a unit of volume (i.e., cups, tablespoons 

(tbsp), or teaspoons (tsp), etc.)? 

No. The amount of each ingredient is listed as a percentage of the 

total weight.

Step 4. Compare the amount of each food component in the 

container with amount required in the CACFP infant meal pattern. 

Because the jar lists amounts of the ingredients in percentages of the total weight, you will need 

to use the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (foodbuyingguide.fns.usda.gov) to 

determine the amount that may be credited toward the meal pattern. Please contact your State 

agency or sponsoring organization for assistance and documentation requirements. You may also 

request a Product Formulation Statement (PFS) from the manufacturer that shows the amount of 

each ingredient in cups, tablespoons (tbsp), or teaspoons (tsp), etc. For more information on a 

PFS, see fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource-files/manufacturerPFStipsheet.pdf. 

Step 3. Is the amount of each creditable ingredient listed on the food container as a unit 

of volume (i.e., cups, tablespoons (tbsp), or teaspoons (tsp), etc.)? 

Yes. This tub of combination baby food lists 4 tbsp of sweet potatoes and 3 tsp of turkey per 

container. 

Step 4. Compare the amount of each food component in the container with the amount 

required in the CACFP infant meal pattern. 

The infant meal pattern requires that you offer:

• 2 tbsp of vegetables/fruit at CACFP meals and snacks, and 

• 4 tbsp grains/meats/meat alternates at breakfast, lunch, and supper. 

Because this tub offers 4 tbsp of vegetables/fruit, one tub of this food fulfills the 

vegetables/fruit component. 

However, this tub only offers 3 tsp (1 tbsp) of meats/meat alternates. You must offer 3 tbsp 

more of an iron-fortified infant cereal and/or meats/meat alternates to fulfill the full 4 tbsp 

of the grains/meats/meat alternates component. 

Ingredients:

65% organic bananas, 

30% water, 3% organic oat 

flour, 1% organic barley 

flakes, 0.277% organic 

cinnamon, 0.1% organic 

lemon juice concentrate.

Granola with Banana

and Cinnamon

4oz (113g)