Creditable Foods for Infants
Tarrah Moreno – Texas Education Service Center, Region 17
Lori Muzquiz – Texas Education Service Center, Region 14
Audiovisual Sponsor
ACKNOWLEDGMENT STATEMENT
You understand and acknowledge that:
the training you are about to take does not cover the entire scope of the
program; and that
you are responsible for knowing and understanding all handbooks,
manuals, alerts, notices and guidance, as well as any other forms of
communication that provide further guidance, clarification or instruction on
operating the program.
THE NEW INFANT
MEAL PATTERN
Implement by
October 1, 2017
Age group changes
•Birth – 5 months
•6 months- 11 months
Breastfeeding Support
Nutritious Meals
•Meat/Meat Alternate at Breakfast
•Fruit/Vegetable at Snack
•Ready-to-Eat Cereals & Iron
Fortified Infant Cereal at Snack
•Elimination of Juice, Cheese Food,
and Cheese Spread
Final Rule for the New Infant Meal Pattern
Search: USDA CACFP Final Rule for Infants Summary
CURRENT INFANT GUIDANCE
FNS Instruction 258
POLICY MEMOS
Search: USDA CACFP Policy
Obligation to Offer Infant Meals
Claiming meals for Breastfed Infants
Creditable Infant Formulas
Other New Meal Pattern Requirements
and Allowances
FEEDING BREASTFED INFANTS NOW
Allow and encourage parents/guardians to delay
the introduction of solid complementary foods until
around six months of age
Best Practice
Create a space for mothers to directly breastfeed
their infants in a quiet, private, sanitary, and
comfortable location within the site
Resource: Ten Steps to Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Centers Resource Kit
FEEDING BREASTFED INFANTS
PLAN AND PREPARE
 Claim meals when a mother directly
breastfeeds on-site and the infant is
exclusively breastfed or when the
site/provider provides all other
required components
Possible Early Implementation
FEEDING BREASTFED INFANTS
PLAN AND PREPARE
 When parents provide
breastmilk and/or a
creditable formula, the
site/provider must provide all
other required components
Breastfeeding Support Courses offered by the Texas WIC Agency
Meal Pattern
Iron Fortified Infant Formula (IFIF)
See CACFP 06-2017
Meal Pattern
Not creditable
(require a medical statement)
Criteria
• Not an FDA Exempt Infant Formula
• Labeled with “Infant Formula with
Iron” or similar statement
• Nutrition label indicates
1mg iron/100kcal
• Low-iron Infant Formulas
•
•
•
•
Follow-up Formulas
Exempt Formulas
Cow’s milk (See CACFP 14-2015 (v.2), Q & A #4)
Goat’s milk, soy milk (usually called soy beverage)
Not Creditable
• Imitation milks, including those made from rice or nuts
(such as almonds) or nondairy creamer
• Evaporated cow’s milk or home-prepared evaporated
cow’s milk formula
• Sweetened condensed milk
IN THE NEW MEAL PATTERN:
IRON FORTIFIED INFANT CEREAL (IFIC)
NOW: NO CHANGE
PLAN AND PREPARE
 Breakfast:
Becomes interchangeable with Meat/Meat Alternates
 Snack:
May be used as a food item in the Grain component
IRON-FORTIFIED INFANT CEREAL– IFIC
Meal Pattern
Creditable
• Dry, iron-fortified (minimum of 45% Percent
Daily Value) infant cereal
• Minimum amount is measured with dry IFIC
• Recommendation: IFIC is mixed with either
BM or IFIF to a consistency that is
consistent with the infant’s
developmental readiness
• May be offered at Breakfast, Lunch, or Snack
• Interchangeable with M/MA for Breakfast &
Lunch
• Interchangeable with Breads/Crackers & RTE
Cereal at Snack
Not creditable
• Jarred “wet” infant cereals
• Iron-fortified dry infant cereals containing
fruit
• Cereals designed for older children and
adults. These cereals are not
recommended for babies
• Enriched farina, regular oatmeal, and corn
grits
• Grains - Rice, pasta, bread, crackers,
teething biscuits, pancakes, waffles,
French toast, breakfast breads
IN THE NEW MEAL PATTERN: VEGETABLE & FRUIT
NOW
 Eliminate Juice as a creditable food
PLAN AND PREPARE
 Snack:
Becomes a required component
VEGETABLES & FRUITS – V/F
Meal Pattern
Creditable
• Commercially prepared baby food, such as green beans, green peas, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets,
spinach, applesauce, apricots, bananas, peaches, pears, and plums must
list vegetable or fruit as the first ingredient in the ingredient listing on the label, or
list vegetable or fruit as the first ingredient and contain multiple vegetables, multiple fruits, or multiple
vegetables & fruits
• Home-prepared vegetables (cooked and processed to the appropriate texture), such as asparagus, broccoli,
cabbage, cauliflower, green beans, green peas, kohlrabi, plantain, potatoes, summer or winter squash,
and sweet potatoes (See FNS– 258, pg. 50, for vegetables that should not be offered before six-months)
• Home-prepared fruits (which can be mashed after peeling if ripe and soft), such as apricots, avocado, bananas,
cantaloupe, mango, melon, nectarines, papaya, peaches, pears, and plums. Stewed pitted dried fruits can
be pureed or mashed. Apples, pears, and dried fruits usually need to be cooked in order to be pureed
or mashed easily.
Not creditable
• Jarred cereals, desserts, or puddings that list a fruit as the first ingredient in their ingredient listing
• Commercially prepared baby food vegetable or fruit with a label stating that the first ingredient is water
IN THE NEW MEAL PATTERN: MEAT/MEAT ALTERNATE
NOW
 Serve egg yolks, natural cheese, and cottage cheese
 Eliminate cheese food and cheese spread
PLAN AND PREPARE
 Breakfast: Add the Meat/Meat Alternate Component, which
becomes interchangeable with IFIC
 Serve whole eggs and yogurt - Possible Early Implementation
MEAT/MEAT ALTERNATE– M/MA
Meal Pattern
Creditable
• Include strained or pureed, wellcooked lean beef, pork, lamb,
veal, chicken, turkey, liver, and
boneless fin fish
• Dairy – cheese, yogurt*, & cottage
cheese
• Cooked dry beans and peas
• Whole Eggs
*Yogurt must have no more than 23g sugar/6oz.
Not creditable
• Nuts & seeds and nut and seed butters
• Hot dogs, sausage, bacon, bologna, salami,
luncheon meats, other cured meats,
fried meats, and the trimmed fat and skin
• Commercial fish sticks, other commercial breaded
fish products, canned fish with bones, hot
dogs, and sausages
• “Baby food” meat sticks
(which look like miniature hot dogs)
• Home-canned meats—
these meats should not be served at all
• Commercially prepared baby food combination
dinners
IN THE NEW MEAL PATTERN: GRAINS FOR SNACK
BREADS, CRACKERS, IFIC, & RTE CEREAL
NOW
 Offer whole grain food items
 Eliminate Grains from Exhibit A with a superscript of 3 & 4
PLAN AND PREPARE
 Allow IFIC
 Allow Ready-to-Eat Cereal - Possible Early Implementation
 Measure minimum required serving sizes of grains by ounce
equivalents (implementation required by 10/1/2019)
BREAD, CRACKERS, IFIC, & RTE CEREAL
SNACK ONLY
Creditable
Must be whole grain-rich or enriched, dry, and
without nuts, seeds, or hard pieces of whole
grain kernels
• Bread, Biscuits, Bagels, & Rolls
• English muffins, Pita bread, & Soft
tortillas (wheat or corn)
• Crackers—saltines, low salt, graham
without honey
• RTE Cereal with no more than 6g
sugar/dry ounce
Meal Pattern
Not creditable
• Snack potato or corn chips,
pretzels, or cheese twists,
• Cookies or granola bars,
• Crackers or breads with seeds, nut
pieces, or whole grain kernels
such as wheat berries, and
• Whole kernels of cooked rice,
barley, or wheat
• Grains listed in Exhibit A with
superscripts 3 & 4
OTHER FOODS
OFFER BUT NOT CREDITABLE FOR INFANTS
DO NOT OFFER: HAZARDOUS TO INFANTS
Choking Hazards
Fish Sticks
Raw Vegetables
Inappropriate
Grains with
Superscript 3 & 4
Resource: FNS Instruction 258
Honey
IN THE NEW MEAL PATTERN:
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
 All sites and providers that participate in Child Nutrition Programs
must offer program meals to enrolled infants
 Sites that participate in the SBP/NSLP, as well as the Special Milk
Program, must implement the CACFP Meal Pattern for infants
 A parent/guardian may provide one component. The
site/provider must provide all or all but one of the other required
components for infants who are developmentally ready for solids
REIMBURSABLE MEALS FOR INFANTS
Required Infant Foods Offered &
Parent Preferences Documented
0-5 Month Infant exclusively offered BM and/or IFIF
All meals – 4-6 oz. and Snacks – 2-4 oz. Creditable BM*/IFIF
fed by the Caretaker
or breastfed directly on-site (BF or MBF)
All Infant Meal Components are
provided by the Caretaker
Exception: Parent/Guardian
may provide one component
*BM – Parent/Guardian determines how much to offer.
Minimum required amount at one time is not required
Snack
6-11 Months
Breakfast
Lunch/Supper
6-8 oz. BM */IFIF
0-4 T. IFIC and/or
M/MA
0-2 T. Vegetable/Fruit
6-8 oz. BM */IFIF
0-4 T. IFIC and/or
M/MA
0-2 T. Vegetable/Fruit
2-4 oz. BM*/IFIF
0+ Bread or Cracker
Or
0-4 T. IFIC or
RTE Cereal
0-2 T. Vegetable/Fruit
A serving of each component is required when the infant is developmentally ready.
More than one
Infant Food
Declined by
Parent/Guardian
Exception: Infants
exclusively
Breastfed on-site
or fed Expressed
Breast Milk and/or
IFIF by Caretaker
All meals are NOT
Reimbursable
BM = Breast Milk
IFIF = Iron Fortified Infant
Formula
IFIC = Iron Fortified Infant
Cereal
M/MA = Meat/Meat Alternate
RTE = Ready-to-eat
CREDITABLE INFANT FOODS ACTIVITY
1. Purchase a selection of infant foods that
are commonly purchased and
served
 Include foods that are
 creditable for each component
 creditable with a medical statement
CREDITABLE
INFANT
FOODS
ACTIVITY
CREDITABLE INFANT FOODS ACTIVITY (CONT.)
2. Create placards for each component/category.
3. Display foods in no particular order.
4. Ask trainees to place food items behind correct placards.
5. Discuss placements & correct misplacements.
Reverse Jeopardy
IFIF
M/MA
V/F
IFIC
B/C/RTE
CEREAL
$100
$100
$100
$100
$100
$200
$200
$200
$200
$200
$300
$300
$300
$300
$300
$400
$400
$400
$400
$400
$500
$500
$500
$500
$500
Final Reverse Jeopardy
IFIF - $100

Jeremy is a 10 month old infant. Jeremy’s
parents have indicated that they would like the
center to provide and offer Jeremy whole cow’s
milk instead of the IFIF offered by the center. Is
whole milk creditable in this case?

Whole cow’s milk for infants under the age of 12
months is only creditable as a substitute for IFIF
when the request includes a note signed by a
medical authority indicating that whole milk
should be substituted for IFIF.
IFIF - $200
Paul is a 2 month old infant. Paul is experiencing signs of
lactose intolerance. Paul’s parents have requested that the
center offer him Enfamil Soy Formula with Iron that they
will provide the center for his meals. If indicated on a
Feeding Infant Preference form and signed by the parent,
is this IFIF creditable instead of the formula offered by the
center?
IFIF - $300
Megan is 4 months old. Her parents have indicated
that they would like for Megan to receive Enfamil
Infant Formula Thickened with Added Rice Starch
instead of the IFIF offered by the center. Is this
formula creditable?
IFIF- $400
Tommy is a 6 month old infant. His parents have
provided a note indicating that they would like Tommy
to be offered Enfagrow Infant and Toddler Formula
instead of the IFIF provided by the center. Is this IFIF
creditable toward a reimbursable meal?
IFIF - $500
Candace is a 3 month old infant with colic. Her parents have provided the
center with a note signed by the physician’s assistant indicating only that
Candace must be offered Nutramigen, which is an FDA Exempt Infant Formula,
as her IFIF instead of the IFIF offered by the center. With the note is this
creditable?

This formula is found on the FDA Exempt list. For this IFIF to be creditable toward
a reimbursable meal, the note must also state that the participant has a diet
related disability that affects a major life activity in addition to the foods that must
be omitted and what can be used as a substitution.
M/MA - $100
Ingredients: Chicken, finely ground
and chicken broth
Ingredients: Turkey, finely ground
and turkey broth
M/MA - $200
M/MA - $300
M/MA - $400
M/MA - $500
V/F - $100
V/F - $200
V/F - $300
V/F - $400
V/F - $500
IFIC - $100
IFIC - $200
IFIC - $300
IFIC - $400
IFIC - $500
B/C/RTE CEREAL - $100
B/C/RTE CEREAL - $200
B/C/RTE CEREAL - $300
B/C/RTE CEREAL - $400
B/C/RTE CEREAL - $500
Final Jeopardy
Would Vanilla Wafers be creditable as a
Bread/Cracker for the Snack Meal Pattern of a 6-11
month old?
TRAINING TIPS FOR CREDITABLE INFANT FOODS
• Provide training to all staff who
participate in providing
reimbursable infant meals:
•those who work with enrollees
•those who purchase infant foods
•those who deliver infant foods
•those who prepare infant foods
•those who feed infants
•Provide training for every infant age
group immediately prior to the
staff caring for the age group
TRAINING TIPS FOR CREDITABLE INFANT FOODS
• Required Documentation
• Meal Pattern for each infant age group
• Creditable Foods for each required component for each age group
• How to transition from the requirements of one age group to the next
• Provide scenarios that are common to the age group
References:
Healthier CACFP Meal Standards (Final Rule) https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR2016-04-25/pdf/2016-09412.pdf
Updated Child and Adult Care Food Program Meal Patterns: Infant Meals
https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/cacfp/CACFP_InfantMealPattern_FactSheet
_V2.pdf
FNS Instruction 258 https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/feeding_infants.pdf
CACFP Policy Memo 06-2017
https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/cacfp/CACFP06-2017os.pdf
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(1)
mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2)
fax: (202) 690-7442; or
(3)
email: [email protected].
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
The Texas Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Division is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.