Customer Reviews

HAPPYBELLIES Organic Baby Cereals, DHA, & Pre & Probiotics +Choline, Organic Oatmeal Cereal, 7-oz. Containers (Pack of 6)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I am a new mom, and have heard amazing things about HappyBaby's Oatmeal. So, when I got on Amazon to purchase some I was surprised/concerned to see some of the negative reviews about off-coloring and bad smells. I wrote to the company to inquire about the issues people were mentioning, and I got a very good response, almost immediately, from the company. The Director of QA said that the problem was limited to one batch of oatmeal only and is no longer a problem. I thought other parents shopping on Amazon might find his response helpful:

"...this is not a food safety issue, so there's no need to worry. It is, however, an "off product" quality issue, and is caused by oxidation of the oils in the grain (oxidative rancidity), usually by the nitrogen flush we put into the can leaking out due to abuse, improper seaming, etc. The reaction (with oxygen) is a lot like leaving a peeled banana on the table too long...yucky, but not dangerous, so your child is not in any danger. The black flecks are oxidized pieces of the cereal bran, which are usually colourless.

Our June production lot was particularly susceptible to this, so we did two things. First, we strengthened the antioxidant portion of the formula (mixed tocopherols), and the problem literally went away. Secondly, we reached out to our warehouses and store shelves, and replaced as much of the June production lot as we could. However, given the size and complexity of the supply chain, it's nearly impossible to get a 100% catch here, so invariably, some cases stayed around. "

This response really impressed me and made me feel much more confident about purchasing HappyBaby products in the future. They acted quickly, and responded thoroughly and honestly to the issue. They truly seem committed to their mission of supplying customers with the highest quality ingredients...and customer service! I will for sure be buying more HappyBaby products in the future.

When my son was an infant, we used this cereal, and it i did not contain DHA from Martek. Martek gets its DHA from algae, and the company uses a chemical solvent to extract the DHA from the algae. This chemical is called hexane. I do not want my new baby eating this cereal because it is not offered without this DHA from Martek. HappyBellies ruined what once was a good thing! I'll be using Earth's Best this time around.

My son (now 9 months old) has been eating HAPPYBELLIES organic oatmeal cereal twice a day since he was 6 months old, and loves it. So I love it too - until recently. The last container I bought had a different color and smell. All our cereal until now had been a cream-ish color, soft and flaky in texture and smelled like, well, oats. Not anymore. The recent batch had cereal that had black/gray-ish flakes mixed with the regular-looking oat flakes, and it smelled horrible, almost like mold or really, really rancid oil. I had bought that batch from [...] and they promptly issued a refund. Now I'm a fix as to what to feed my baby! I don't want to experiment with an unfamiliar brand given how much he loves this one, but again I don't want him to eat what clearly doesn't look or smell like food.

Can someone, from either Amazon or HAPPYBELLIES, please repond to this and other similar concerns and put them to rest?

We only fed our son rice cereal for about 2 weeks - he vastly prefers the taste of oats. This cereal mixes instantly, and combines well with other foods. The addition of DHA and probiotic supplements is an important factor in our decision to buy this product.

It was a little disconcerting to open the cannister for the first time and see that it had settled to the point that it appeared only half full. The label says this may happen...it's a shame that so much packaging is wasted, though.

Tip: We saved the scoop from his formula and use it to measure the cereal from the cannister.

I am so excited to see that HappyBaby has cereal now! My daughter loves their frozen organic baby food! Plus the packaging is sooooo much better than the boxes 'other' cereals come in. LOVE LOVE LOVE this product!

We used to love this product feeding it to our son twice a day for several months. About 3 months ago, we opened a can and there was definitely something wrong with it. The consistency was clumpy instead of the normal light, fluffy flakes. The color was off as well. The most notable change was the terrible smell. I did contact the company and they responded to me right away. The answer made some sense and it has been quoted by others here in this forum. My problem now is that it just makes no sense! How on earth is there no recall or some other investigation of this product by the FDA? It was very noticeable that it all but disappeared off of store shelves and online stores for a few weeks. The price here on Amazon has gone way up. I was still buying it but will no longer. I was still opening cans that were rancid and others that are not. It is not cheap so I can't afford to keep playing the guessing game on my dime.

I purchased 3 containers of this cereal all having expiration dates in 2012. The first container I opened seemed fine (at least I hope it is! I fed it to my 5 month old!) The cereal color was a pale whitish-tan and there was relatively no odor to it. Baby likes it so I am happy. The second container I opened (again, same packaging, and good expiration date) had a totally different color - this time it was brownish-green. However, the worst part was the rancid smell. It smells like rancid oil. I opened the third container - same brownish-green color and and same rancid smell. Very unhappy with this product. I have contacted the company, but have had no reply yet. I would not recommend feeding this to your baby.

This is the first oatmeal cereal my 6 month old has been given and he really LOVES it. I drove my self crazy doing all kinds of research for a safe, BPA free cereal, then drove myself crazy looking at all the research on DHA, and so on. Finally I decided to go ahead and give this a try. Unfortunately there is no perfect baby cereal on the market at this time, but this product is pretty close. And my baby seems to really enjoy it. I will say my local target is currently selling it for only $3.19 a can, which is a little cheaper than amazons current price.

I tried to use the cheaper cereals with my baby and she would refuse them. From the moment she tried the HappyBellies, feeding became so much easier. She loves the way it tastes. My only complaint is that I wish it came in bigger packaging. I feel like I am always opening a new can and would rather there be less packaging. But at the same time the cans are very easy to transport when traveling.

This cereal and the rice are awesome. My daughter loves them and they are so good for her. But buy these at Target it is way cheaper!