Complementary foods refer to foods, whether commercially manufactured or locally prepared, suitable as a complement to breast milk or infant formula when either becomes insufficient to satisfy the nutritional requirements of an infant.

Complementary feeding is an important process of introducing complementary foods when there is an increasing dependence on these foods to provide energy and essential nutrients during the transition to the family diet.

The World Health Organization recommends:

• Introducing complementary foods by 6 months of age
• Feeding complementary foods 2-3 times per day (6-8 months)
• Feeding complementary foods 3-4 times per day (9-24 months)

Find out more about complementary foods, the role of commercial fortified complementary foods and the importance of complementary feeding with our ‘Complementary Foods’ factsheet.

Download the factsheet here.

ISDI-Complementary-Foods-factsheet