1) "All parents wonder about when is the right time to add strawberries to their baby's diet. Strawberries are a potential high allergen food and as such, they really should be avoided until 12 months of age; avoid them longer if your family has a history of allergies!" "So why do many commercial baby foods marketed as "Stage 2" contain strawberries? Beech Nut commercial baby food states: "Fresh strawberries can sometimes cause food reactions in babies. Cooked strawberries, on the other hand, usually do not. That's because heat pasteurization destroys the substance responsible for reactions. So Beech-Nut includes strawberries – pasteurized for safety and good tolerance" We note that it is known that cooking a food will often help a person be able to better tolerate it." "When speaking with a pediatrician, I was told that it is possible that the strawberry protein <allergen> may be destroyed in commercial baby food processing. Whether or not home cooking of strawberries would reach temperatures high enough to destroy any protein is uncertain. It is recommended to wait on strawberry introduction if there is a family history of strawberry allergies." Source and further information: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/strawberrybabyfoodrecipes.htm 2) "CONSUMER advocates are calling for independent mandatory testing on fruit and vegetables following an investigation which found more than half the Australian-grown strawberries tested contained residues of pesticides." "Jo Immig, the co-ordinator of National Toxics Network Inc, said Choice's findings showed that the regulation of pesticides in Australia had fallen woefully behind. "The results … should alarm customers, and in particular parents of small children who are at far greater risk of damage from pesticide exposures," she said." Source and further information: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/banned-pesticides-on-strawberries/2008/01/29/1201369135254.html