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Salmon for babies: when and how?
From the start of solids at around 6 months you can offer salmon. The way you prepare it decides. Cook it all the way through and mash it finely into the purée.
Everything here comes from the food catalogue inside the HeyFini app: the traffic light, how to prepare it at 6, 9 and 12 months, and the source behind every safety statement.
With limitsallowed, but preparation decides
What you need to know
How to prepare it, by age
All three stages stand side by side. We don't know how old your child is, so read the stage that fits you.
At 6 months
Cook it all the way through and mash it finely into the purée. Remove every bone first.
From 9 months
Cooked through and broken into soft flakes to pick up. Remove every bone first.
From 12 months
Small pieces of fillet from the family plate. Keep checking for bones.
Sources: WHO and UNICEF on texture stages, ESPGHAN 2017 on the lumpy-food window in months 8 to 10.
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.
A tip from everyday life
Salmon is full of valuable omega-3 fats. Cooked through, it falls apart into soft flakes on its own. Check carefully for bones.
Allergens
Main allergen under EU law: Fish. EAACI and the German S3 guideline on allergy prevention speak for introducing common allergens early and then offering them regularly. Avoiding them does not protect against an allergy.
Sources: EAACI and the German S3 guideline on allergy prevention. How to introduce allergens
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.
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.
Common questions
When can my baby eat salmon?
As soon as solids are under way, so at around 6 months. Cook it all the way through and mash it finely into the purée. Remove every bone first.
What do I need to watch out for with salmon?
Only cooked through. Raw fish is off limits for babies, smoked salmon too. Remove every bone.
What changes with salmon from 12 months?
Small pieces of fillet from the family plate. Keep checking for bones.
Is there an allergen in salmon?
Yes. Main allergen under EU law: Fish. EAACI and the German S3 guideline on allergy prevention speak for introducing common allergens early and then offering them regularly. Avoiding them does not protect against an allergy.
Read on
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).