Baby food too sweet

The majority of baby foods in the United States do not meet WHO recommendations, according to a new study. They contain too much sugar and not enough protein. The situation is similar in Canada.

What is the problem?

More than half of baby foods sold in the United States do not meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) nutritional recommendations. And more than 99% violate WHO’s nutrition labeling recommendations.

“The early years are a crucial period for growth and eating habits,” says Elizabeth Dunford, a nutritionist at the University of North Carolina and the University of New South Wales in Australia, who published her study in mid-August in the journal Nutrients. “Not only are babies not getting adequate nutrients, they are developing a taste for sugar that will harm them later.”

M^me Dunford also published a study on baby food in Australia this month in the journal Maternal & Child NutritionFor her American study, she combed through the labels of 651 foods for children under 3. Some displayed up to 11 promotional claims prohibited by the WHO, in a 2022 document based on new European policies.

Does the problem also exist in Canada?

Last year, pediatrician Julie St-Pierre of the Montreal Children’s Hospital combed through food for babies under 1 year old in a supermarket.

“Very few products met WHO health standards,” says Dr.^D St-Pierre, to whom The Press asked to comment on M’s studies^me Dunford.

The Montreal pediatrician is particularly targeting the pouches that are very popular with parents. “Generally, there is too much sugar and not enough functional fibers, pieces. When everything is pureed, the fibers are not functional.”

The D^D St-Pierre also has an issue with rice cakes. “There’s not a lot of sugar, not a lot of calories, but there’s no protein or fiber. Eating these cakes over the course of a week is making our kids sick.”

He often stops to talk to parents who look puzzled by the rows of baby food. “We save one at a time. It’s David versus Goliath. If parents know, they will change the industry.”

What are the WHO nutritional recommendations for babies?

Here’s what to check, according to M^me Dunford:

– Less than 60 calories (or 60 kcal) per 100 g;

– Less than 50 mg of sodium per 100 calories;

– Less than 6 g of fat per 100 calories;

– No sugar or other sweetener added;

– Protein greater than 3 g per 100 calories for purees without protein, 4 g for meals with protein;

– Sugar should be less than 15% of total calories. This is calculated by dividing the amount of sugar by the number of calories and multiplying by 400.

This means that for a 130-calorie chicken and vegetable puree, you would need:

– Less than 65 mg sodium;

– Less than 7.15 g of lipids;

– Less than 3 g of sugar;

– More than 5.2 g of protein.

How should nutritional labelling be done?

WHO recommends simple displays, for example with coloured verdicts (green for good foods, red for bad) or letters as for school grades.

“It’s a bit like the Nutri-Score used in Europe,” says M.^me Dunford: It’s not used for baby food yet. But it makes it easier for people who have difficulty with math and reading labels to make a decision.”

Does Nutri-Score change consumer habits?

Not much, according to initial studies, admits M.^me Dunford: “It doesn’t really affect sales of the less nutritionally interesting products, but it does increase sales of the better products a little bit.”

A French study published in 2021 in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Scienceon 1.7 million purchases of 1,266 foods in 60 supermarkets, showed that the Nutri-Score increased the nutritional quality of the average purchase by 2.5%.

“It has an impact on the health of the population, but not on the individual,” says Mr.^me Dunford.

Why do baby food companies put too much sugar and not enough functional fiber in their products?

M^me Dunford and the D^D St-Pierre agree on one point: the industry wants to accustom future consumers to liking sugar. “Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama said it in the documentary Fed Up (2011), the industry wants to retain future customers, says D^D St-Pierre. Sugar is addictive. In the documentary The Sustowe see that the Mexican cartels want children to drink sugary drinks so that they will be tempted by cocaine later.”

As for the few functional fibres in the products, M^me Dunford notes that the rise in popularity of pouches partly explains this problem. “You have to squeeze the puree out of the pouches. If there are chunks in it, it complicates the process.”