The purpose of this study was to compare the nutrient content of a new instant baby food product to jar baby food of similar product formulation. Instant and jar "Vegetable and Beef" and "Bananas" products processed in 1985 and 1987 were analyzed for available lysine, vitamin B-6 and pyridoxyllysine content.

The available lysine content of 100 grams of baby food was found to be higher in the instant products, but when adjusted for protein content, available lysine was higher in the jar products. This indicates that drum-drying used for the instant products is more detrimental in regard to lysine availability than retorting. The vitamin B-6 content of the instant products was found to be higher than that of the jar products. However, due to the addition of ingredients with little or no vitamin B-6 content to the jar products, no conclusion about processing effects on vitamin B-6 content can be made. Products processed in 1985 tended to be lower in nutrient content than the products processed in 1987. Pyridoxyllysine, a compound thought to affect vitamin B-6 bioavailability, could not be detected in any of the baby foods, either by amino acid or HPLC analysis.

The instant products were found to be at least equal to the jar products with regard to available lysine and vitamin B-6 content. All products also appear to provide sufficient amounts of these nutrients to infants less than one year of age.