Foods that are dangerous for babies

Two dangers sit behind this list: foods that can make a baby ill, and shapes a baby chokes on. The whole list comes from the checked catalogue inside the HeyFini app.

Well suited With limits Not suitable

Red list: not in the first year

Food	Why
Biscuits / “baby biscuits”	Even baby biscuits are often a sugar trap, so read the ingredients list. Sugar-free rusks or strips of bread are the honest choice.
Chocolate / cocoa	Sugar plus caffeine traces, not needed in year one. The later the start, the longer it stays special.
Chocolate hazelnut spread	Mostly sugar and fat. Pure nut butter gives the nuts without the sugar trap.
Chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag)	The Dutch bread classic is pure sugar. Not needed in the first year, and happily longer than that.
Coffee / cola / energy drinks	Caffeine has no place in babyhood or the toddler years. That includes cola, iced tea and energy drinks.
Custard / pudding	Ready-made vla and pudding are sweetened. Unsweetened yoghurt with fruit purée is the baby version.
Honey	Honey can contain botulism spores and is off limits for the whole first year, says the BfR, even in traces and even boiled. Surprisingly many people do not know that.
Ice cream	Sugar, plus a germ risk with soft serve. Puréed frozen fruit is the baby version for teething.
Jam	Mostly sugar, and WHO and DGE advise none under the age of two. Use mashed fruit on bread instead.
Maple syrup	It is and stays sugar, and WHO and DGE say none under two. Ripe fruit sweetens porridge just as well.
Popcorn	A choking risk, warns the AAP. The hard, light pieces are easily inhaled. Unsuitable for babies and toddlers.
Raw-milk cheese	Raw milk and its cheese are off limits for babies. They can carry listeria, says Gesund ins Leben.
Rice drink	Unsuitable for babies and toddlers, the BfR warns of arsenic. No substitute for breast milk or formula.
Salt / very salty foods	Baby purée stays unsalted, says Gesund ins Leben, the kidneys are not ready yet. Leave out salty snacks and stock cubes too.
Salt sticks	Pure salt, just as the name says. Unsuitable in the first year, the kidneys are not ready for it yet.
Sprouts	Raw off limits for babies, the BfR warns of germs up to EHEC. Heated through in the pan they are fine.
Sugar & sweets	No added sugar under age 2, say the WHO and DGE, and no sweetened pouches or biscuits either. Hard sweets are a choking risk on top.
Whole nuts	Whole nuts are THE classic choking cause, off limits until about age 4, say the BfR and AAP. As butter or finely ground they are absolutely fine.

Amber list: preparation decides

Food	Why
Almond butter	Only as butter, spread thinly. Never whole almonds, a choking risk until about age 4, says the BfR.
Apple	Raw hard pieces of apple can break off. Steamed, finely grated or one large piece to gnaw on is safer than cubes.
Baked beans	From the tin usually sweetened and salted. Choose a low-sugar kind or rinse them, and mash them at first.
Beans (kidney, white)	Only well cooked through, raw beans contain phasin. Mash them at first.
Beef	Always cooked right through. Raw or pink meat is off limits for babies, says Gesund ins Leben.
Blueberries	Small and round. Squash or halve them at first.
Carrot	Raw carrot is hard and snaps easily. In the first year cook it soft or grate it finely.
Celery stalks	Pull off the long strings and cook it soft. Raw, the stalks are hard and stringy.
Cheese (sliced)	Only pasteurised cheese. Raw milk cheese is off limits for babies, says Gesund ins Leben. Strips, not cubes.
Cherries	Stone and quarter lengthways. Cherries are round like grapes.
Chia seeds	They swell a lot. Always soak them first, give at most about a teaspoon and plenty of liquid.
Chickpeas	Offer them cooked soft and mashed. Whole chickpeas are round and firm.
Cinnamon	Sparingly and ideally Ceylon. Cheaper cassia cinnamon contains coumarin, which the BfR says toddlers tolerate only in small amounts.
Corn	Single kernels are small and smooth. Mash them at first or serve as polenta.
Cow's milk	Drinking only towards the end of the first year, at most about 200 ml a day from a cup, says Gesund ins Leben. In porridge earlier is fine.
Cranberries	Fresh they are very sour, firm and round, so halve them. Dried ones are usually sweetened like sweets.
Crispbread	Can break into hard splinters. Only once chewing is safe, and then thinly spread.
Currants	Small and round, so mash them at first. They are quite sour and go well in cereal or compote.
Dates	Always pit them and cut them small. And go easy, dates are almost pure sugar.
Dried fruit (sulphured)	Sulphured fruit contains sulphites, a major allergen that can irritate. Choose unsulphured, cut small and sparingly, it is full of sugar.
Duck	Only cooked all the way through. Remove the fatty skin for your baby.
Edamame	Round and smooth like peas, so shelled, cooked soft and mashed at first. Soy is a major allergen.
Egg	Only fully cooked, so hard boiled or baked through. No soft or raw egg in the first year.
Elderberries	ONLY cooked through, as juice or compote. Raw elderberries are not tolerated and cause nausea.
Feta / sheep's cheese	Very salty. Soak it in water first and only add a few crumbs. Buy pasteurised feta.
Flaxseed (ground)	Ground only, no more than half to one teaspoon, and with plenty of liquid. Whole seeds pass through undigested.
Fruit pouch	Not for constant sucking. Fruit sugar washes around the teeth, and nobody practises chewing. Better squeeze it onto a spoon.
Goat cheese (pasteurised)	Only from pasteurised milk. Raw milk kinds are off limits for babies.
Goat's milk	Like cow's milk. As a drink only towards the end of the first year, and only pasteurised. With a cow's milk allergy it is NO way out, because of cross-reactions.
Gooseberries	Round with a tough skin. Halve them or mash them.
Grapes	According to the AAP, whole grapes are one of the most common causes of choking. Always quarter lengthways, halving across is not enough.
Green beans	Only cooked right through. Raw green beans contain phasin, which is not tolerated.
Herring	Only cooked through. Matjes and Bismarck herring are raw cured and off limits for babies, pickled herring is also very salty.
Juice	Babies need no juice, lots of sugar, bad for coming teeth. If at all, heavily diluted with meals.
Kohlrabi	Raw it is hard and snaps easily. In the first year only cooked soft.
Leaf lettuce	Raw, smooth leaves stick to the palate. Offer them only once chewing is reliable, cut into narrow strips.
Lychee	Round, smooth and slippery like a grape, with a big stone. Pit it and quarter it lengthwise.
Mirabelle plum	Small, round and with a stone. Pit them and quarter them.
Mozzarella	Mini balls are round and slippery like grapes, so quarter them lengthwise. Only from pasteurised milk.
Mushrooms	Only serve mushrooms cooked right through, never raw.
Mussels	Only fully cooked through and cut small, mussels are chewy. Molluscs are a major allergen. Discard any that stay closed.
Olives	Always pit them and quarter them lengthwise, they are round. Soak them well, olives are very salty.
Omelette / scrambled eggs	Let it set firmly. Runny scrambled egg is still half raw and off limits in the first year.
Other edible mushrooms	Only cultivated mushrooms and only cooked through. Self-picked mushrooms are off limits for babies.
Parmesan	Very salty, just a touch over the food. Classic Parmesan is a raw milk cheese, to be safe choose pasteurised hard cheese.
Peanut butter	Only spread thinly or stirred into purée, thick blobs stick to the palate, warns the AAP. With eczema, check with a doctor first, advises the S3 guideline.
Peas	Small and round. Boil them soft and mash them lightly at the start.
Pesto	Shop-bought is very salty, with raw-milk parmesan. Home-made without salt and with ground nuts is the baby version.
Physalis	Small and round. Always quarter it.
Pomegranate	Small, round and firm. At first only the squeezed juice in cereal, whole seeds only once chewing is safe.
Pork	Only cooked right through. No raw mince and no raw pork spread, says Gesund ins Leben.
Poultry	Always cooked right through. Raw poultry can contain salmonella.
Pretzel	Rub off the coarse salt, lye pastry is salty. Soft pretzel arms are the most baby friendly form.
Quince	Raw, it is rock hard. Only offer it cooked soft as a compote or purée.
Radishes	Hard, round and peppery. In the first year only finely grated or not at all.
Rhubarb	Only cooked, and because of the oxalic acid only occasionally. Raw rhubarb is not suitable for babies.
Rice	According to the BfR, rice can contain traces of arsenic. Alternate with other grains, no rice porridge every day.
Rice cakes	Handy, but the BfR advises restraint because of possible arsenic levels. Only now and then, not as a daily snack.
Rice pudding (unsweetened)	Cook it without sugar, fruit purée instead of cinnamon sugar. Like all rice, alternate it and not daily, the BfR warns of arsenic.
Rusk	Softens quickly in the mouth, which is why babies love it. Many kinds contain sugar though, so choose a sugar free one.
Salmon	Only cooked through. Raw fish is off limits for babies, smoked salmon too. Remove every bone.
Sausage	Always halve or quarter round sausages lengthwise, the AAP advises. Sausage is salty, offer it only rarely.
Seitan	Pure wheat protein, meaning gluten, and shop-bought often heavily seasoned and salty. Offer it unseasoned and cut soft.
Shrimp	Only fully cooked and cut small, shrimp are rubbery. Shellfish are a main allergen.
Smoothie	Home-blended from fruit and veg from a spoon is fine. As an all-day drink too much fruit sugar, and shop-bought ones are often sweetened.
Sour cherries	Just like cherries. Pit them and quarter them lengthwise.
Spanish tortilla	Only when fully set. A runny centre is raw egg and must not be liquid for a baby.
Squid	Rubbery and chewy, so hard to chew. Only braised very soft and cut fine. Molluscs are a major allergen.
Tomato	Cherry tomatoes are round like grapes. Always quarter them lengthways.
Trout	Only cooked through, and debone it very carefully. Trout have lots of fine bones.
Tuna	Big predatory fish like tuna accumulate mercury, so only rarely for babies. Better choose salmon, pollock or trout.
Watermelon	Remove the seeds. At first cut out the small white ones as well.
White fish (e.g. cod)	Only cooked through, and remove every bone first.

Sources: AAP, the German BfR and Netzwerk Gesund ins Leben.

This page gives general information and does not replace medical or dietetic advice. Every child develops differently. When in doubt, talk to your paediatrician or a registered dietitian.

The ages are rough guides. What counts is not the calendar but what your child can already do with mouth and hands.

The five safety rules

Quarter round food lengthwise. Grapes, cherries and cherry tomatoes never go on the plate whole.
Cook hard food soft or grate it finely. Raw carrot and raw apple break into hard pieces otherwise.
Nuts are never whole, only as a butter or finely ground.
Eating happens sitting upright, never lying down and never on the move.
Stay with your baby while they eat. Choking happens silently.

⚠️ If your child chokes or can't breathe, call the emergency number straight away: 112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US.

Sources: AAP, the German BfR and Netzwerk Gesund ins Leben. All dangerous foods at a glance

All 234 foods in the app

HeyFini shows the preparation that fits your own child's age, plus the food passport and the allergen companion for all 14 main allergens.

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Common questions

What must a baby never eat in the first year?

Honey because of the botulism spores, raw animal foods, raw-milk cheese, salt and sugar. Plus anything whole and round: whole nuts, whole grapes, popcorn. The full red list is in the table above.

Why is honey dangerous for babies?

Honey can contain botulism spores and is off limits for the whole first year, says the BfR, even in traces and even boiled.

Why are whole grapes a problem?

Whole grapes are among the most common causes of choking, according to the AAP. Always quarter them lengthwise, halving them crosswise is not enough.

What do I do if my baby chokes?

Stay with your child and call the emergency number straight away if they can't breathe, have blue lips or go floppy: 112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US. Choking happens silently, which is why you sit with your baby at every meal.

By Felix & Merle · Josefine's parents

We built HeyFini out of our own days with a baby. What you read here comes from the app's food catalogue, which leans on the German BfR, Netzwerk Gesund ins Leben, the AAP, WHO, UNICEF, ESPGHAN and the S3 guideline on allergy prevention. More in our story. Last updated: 3 September 2026.

Read on

Bell pepper Grapes Egg Peanut butter Honey Avocado Banana Broccoli Carrot Potato Sweet potato Cucumber

General guidance, not medical advice. For questions about your child, talk to your paediatrician or midwife. In an emergency call your local emergency number (112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US).