Homemade juice: Safe for toddlers?

I think it is wonderful that your daughter can experience the fresh flavor and superior nutrition of fresh juice, and I think you have come up with a creative way to help your daughter overcome her lack of vegetable intake.

Your concern for safety is wise. In the past few years there have been outbreaks of bacterial food poisoning from non-pasteurized, fresh pressed juices. These outbreaks were traced to juices made at companies where the equipment and or ingredients were contaminated.

Improper sanitary practices allows the contamination to occur. Pasteurizing is a high temperature treatment that compensates for lack of sanitary practices by killing the pathogen. For those companies that are scrupulously clean, pasteurization is an insurance measure.

I don't see any problem with your juice making so long as you practice safe food handling techniques to make sure that your daughter's juice is safe for her to drink. First of all, be sure your equipment is always clean and sanitary. You don't need to boil it, but putting the different parts that come apart into the dishwasher is a safe way to keep them clean.

Secondly, make sure the ingredients you are using have been thoroughly washed. For those fruits and veggies where you can remove the skin first, you should, as most contamination is on the surface. For juices that contain berries, grapes and leafy greens, be sure they have been double or triple rinsed. Finally, buy your ingredients from a reputable place, where you are confident that foods have been stored in a sanitary manner. Once you have those foods at home, store them appropriately and use them quickly, before time has allowed any bacteria to multiply.

The same practices apply to serving any fresh fruit or vegetable to your daughter, juiced or not.