questions about plum?

The majority of our manufacturing takes place in the US and Canada with the exception of a few products that are made in Western Europe. For example, our Little Teethers™ Wafers are made in Italy.

At the core of what we do, Plum is committed to nourishing little ones with healthy, nutritious products. Through Plum’s program The Mindful Effect™, we are dedicated to tackling hunger and nourishing babies and toddlers in need across America. Becoming a benefit corporation further reinforced our values and social mission.

A Public Benefit Corporation, or simply Benefit Corporation, is a legal status administered by the state, like an LLC or C Corp. In contrast to more traditional corporate forms, Benefit Corporations can legally balance pecuniary interests of shareholders (profit) and their stated social or environmental mission. Plum reincorporated as a public benefit corporation in the state of Delaware on August 1, 2013. Instead of Plum, Inc, we’re now Plum, PBC.

The Mindfull Effect™ is Plum’s program dedicated to nourishing little ones in need across America. We believe every child deserves the nutrients she needs to live into her full potential. To date, Plum has donated over twelve million organic snacks & meals to children in need. We work with three non-profit partners to reach communities across America and have reached little ones in need internationally for disaster relief.

Plum was founded in 2007, when a small group of parents came together and reimagined the baby food category as we know it today. We introduced the first spouted baby food pouch, with a mission of inspiring a lifetime of healthy eating from the very first bite.

Plum was founded on the belief that little ones deserve the very best food from the very first bite. So a group of parents got together and started asking questions. Is white rice cereal really the best first food? Is picky eating a given? Where do taste preference come from? In order to cultivate Nutritional Intelligence – an intelligence that will help babies choose healthy foods later in life – Plum focuses on adventurous eating through a wide variety of flavors, early and often. These are the beliefs that guide our product development every day.

There will often be variability in the levels of heavy metals in ingredients and products. Plum uses a combination of guidance from leading health and regulatory bodies to create a protocol for evaluating heavy metals in products.

Our packaging is made of materials that meet all government standards and regulations for food contact. We want to assure you that Plum products are safe to eat and we are confident in the safety of our packaging. We are not aware of any lead leaching from our packaging.

Heavy metals are present throughout the environment, including soil and water. Whether you are growing your own produce in your backyard, buying fresh produce from a farmer’s market or purchasing a product in the supermarket, these substances will be present in the food to some extent. Plum is committed to minimizing environmental contaminants including heavy metals within our products.

Today, in the United States, there is no federal standard on heavy metals in baby food. Plum stands ready to work with regulators on creating one. Plum uses a combination of guidance from leading health and regulatory bodies to create a protocol for evaluating heavy metals in products.

Implemented in 2002, the USDA Organics certification system went through over a decade of development. For packaged foods, only products that contain at least 95% organically produced ingredients (the other 5% must come from an approved National Organic Program list) can use the seal on its packaging and must be made in facilities that are certified to meet strict USDA Organic guidelines. Certified by an independent third-party, all USDA Certified Organic products must show documentation that allows full traceability from the retailer shelves to the field where the organic ingredients were grown.

Plum products are always made without genetically modified ingredients.

Pushing food away or spitting it out is natural part of baby’s exploration of food. Continue trying the food in daily intervals so long as it is not causing your child to be unwell or have an allergic reaction. In most cases your child will adapt to the taste and texture within this period and accept the food. It can sometimes take several weeks for a baby to accept a food. Research has shown that introducing as many different foods to your baby as early as possible, makes for less picky eaters later in life.

Our Stage 1 products have the smoothest texture and are intended to help introduce your 4 to 6-month-old baby to solid foods. We always recommend consulting with your pediatrician to determine when your baby might be ready for solids. Stage 2 and 3 products are for babies aged 6 months and up and are slightly thicker in texture and consistency than our Stage 1 products. In contrast,  our  Baby snacks (Little Teethers®  and Mighty Puffs®) are not recommended by age, but by developmental milestones, which can be found on the outer packaging. Our Teensy® Snacks, Mighty Snack Bars®, Mighty and Morning® Bars,  are from our Plum® Tots product line, and are for babies and toddlers 12 months and older. Our Jammy Sammy® snacks are for toddlers 18 months and older. We also include some developmental milestones on the outer packaging of our Tots snack products, which may be helpful in determining whether your little one is ready to enjoy them. Plum® Organics kids products are designed for snacking at home, taking on-the-go, or packing in a lunchbox.  Applesauce Mashups® is a great snack for kids ages 3 and up.

Our Super Smoothie is intended for 2+ years and can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike! You can find tons of great tips and recommendations for feeding your little one on Our Feed.

Every baby’s needs are different and will depend primarily on their size and appetite. Developmental stages may also affect their appetite. For example, a growth spurt may mean they will want to eat greater quantities more often while teething may cause them to eat less and be pickier with food. Follow your baby’s lead on how much and when they want to eat.

We always prioritize sourcing domestically when possible. However, many of our ingredients naturally grow in regions outside the US, such as tropical ingredients like mangoes and guavas. And, due to seasonality, we will sometimes source ingredients like apples from other regions to ensure we have the freshest available.

The ratio of fruits to veggies varies depending on flavor. They can be anywhere from a half to full serving per pouch. All our pouches have added an easy-to-read recipe to show you what goes into every pouch. We also recommend consuming a variety of pouches for a good range of color, nutrients, and tastes. And we always recommend incorporating local, seasonal varieties of veggies and fruit as soon as the baby moves onto more textured meals or whenever your lifestyle permits.

Absolutely! As parents ourselves, health and safety are always our top priorities. If we didn’t feel good about our products, we wouldn’t serve them to our children or yours.

Plum follows all government regulations regarding the labeling of our products. In the case of the “Big 9” allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, fish, wheat, soy, sesame, and shellfish), we list those ingredients in the product ingredient statement, no matter how small the amount might be. In addition, a bolded “Contains” statement will be listed under the ingredients. In the event that there is a possibility of cross-contamination with a “Big 9” allergen, a bolded “May Contain” statement will be listed. In regard to possible cross contact between products, we use an extensive and effective sanitation procedure in between different processing operations, and efforts are made to prevent any possible cross contact to the greatest practical extent.

Plum has a comprehensive quality and food safety program that encompasses an ingredient testing program, which includes testing for heavy metals.

Our standards are in-line with applicable U.S. government regulations.

Our pouch products are either pasteurized or thermally processed to ensure product safety and shelf stability.

Spices can be traced to the start of civilizations around the world and have been added to baby food in different countries for generations. We thoroughly research the attributes of the herbs and spices in our baby food, such as sage and tarragon, and have worked closely with leading pediatric advisor and nutrition expert, Dr. Alan Greene throughout our product development. Also, we only add a hint of each herb or spice in our baby products since baby’s brand-new taste buds need a much smaller amount.

You’ll find ingredient profiles on the back of every Plum® Organics pouch. Here’s how we measure them:

Sweet: Rice crackers = 0, strawberry jam = 5

Sour: Milk = 0, lemon = 5

Savory: Plain white rice = 0, steamed broccoli = 5

Texture: Watery = 0, hard biscuit = 5

Absolutely! As parents ourselves, health and safety are always our top priorities. If we didn’t feel good about our products, we wouldn’t serve them to our children or yours.

As a Public Benefit Corporation, we believe in using business as a force for good. That means considering the greater impact of everything we do — like the effect our food packaging has on the environment.

Our dream is to have all of Plum’s packaging be 100% recyclable. It’s something we’re working on every day. In the meantime, we’ve joined How2Recycle — a labeling system that makes it easier to sort our waste and recyclables. Proper sorting helps keep contaminants out of the recycling stream, making the process far more effective and efficient.

Our pouch is not recyclable, but it does leave a smaller environmental footprint than the glass baby food jar. The amount of packaging per gram of food is almost 11 times smaller for the pouch as compared to the glass jar. We’re also actively searching for alternative earth-friendly materials that can be used for food-grade products. We’ve even partnered with industry leaders, such as Materials Recovery for the Future and OSC2, to find new types of recyclable materials. The cap is too small to go through the regular recycling system. Collect your caps and send them back to Preserve or drop them off at the nearest Preserve bin (find a location here). Better yet, check out some creative ways to reuse our caps.

Our wrappers are not yet recyclable, but we’re working on it! Our team is dedicated to finding alternative earth-friendly materials that can be used for food-grade products — like compostable food wrappers — and have partnered with industry leaders, such as MRFF and OSC2, to find new ways to minimize food packaging waste. Our carton and boxes are made with 100% recycled content and can be placed in your recycling bin. (Yay!)

Our puffs canister is recyclable. Simply remove the outer sleeve and keep the lid attached before placing the canister in your recycling bin. (Feels good, right?)

Our carton and boxes are made with 100% recycled content and can be placed in your recycling bin. (Yay!)

Our pouches are made from safe materials. They are a mix of 100% BPA & phthalate free plastic and foil – a special blend that helps to naturally preserve the nutrients and retain the vibrant color & taste. The inner lining is made from a food grade polyethylene.

Plum® baby food pouches can be served at room temperature, slightly chilled, or warmed in a bowl of hot water. DO NOT microwave the pouch. To serve, simply twist off the cap and let your little one feed directly from the spout, or squeeze into a bowl or onto a spoon for your little one to enjoy! The pouches can be stored in your cupboard until ready for use. Refrigeration is required upon opening and we recommend the meal should be consumed within 24 hours for best quality and taste.

For optimal quality and freshness, we do recommend that you refrigerate any open pouch that’s not yet empty and consume the contents within 24 hours.

Our pouches have a tamper evident seal that clicks during opening, keeping the product fresh. Our pouch food is cooked and utilizes a specific blend of ingredients and balanced acidity levels to ensure product safety. However, in rare instances a pouch may become compromised. Be sure to always check that the pouch is not leaking or bloated before giving it to a child, as it signifies a quality issue. If you notice that the pouch packaging has been compromised in any way, such as a bloating, or a tear or puncture, we do not advise or recommend that you feed the product to your little one.

Our pouches are designed to withstand a normal pressurized airplane environment and are indeed safe for air travel. In fact, one of the things that our customers love so much about our pouches is that they’re so convenient and easy to travel with! If you’re still concerned, it won’t hurt to put the pouches in a zip-lock bag. The TSA does allow baby food to pass through the security checkpoint, so long as you inform the Transportation Security Officer that you are carrying baby food at the beginning of the screening process. Baby food products may be subjected to additional screening that could include being asked to open the container.

Please check out our Store Locator to find a retailer near to you that sells Plum Organics products, as well as a list of our online retail partners.

Unfortunately, our products are not currently available outside of the U.S.

While we don’t offer samples, we do periodically post coupons and host giveaways on our social channels. Be sure to follow us on TikTok and Instagram to stay in the loop!

Unfortunately, we do not have a multiples program.