Unhealthy Baby Foods in US Grocery Stores Are ‘Deceiving’ Parents, Study Warns

Health claims on baby food products sold at major US supermarkets are “deceiving” parents, according to a study published today.

Researchers from the George Institute for Global Health wrote in a journal article that manufacturers use promotional claims to distract consumers from a product’s poor nutritional profile and give the misleading impression that it is healthy. Nutrients.

“Time-strapped parents are choosing convenience foods, believing them to be healthier than they really are, without realizing that many of them lack the essential nutrients their children need for development,” said Elizabeth Dunford, a nutrition scientist at the University of North Carolina.

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“Early childhood is a critical period during which rapid growth occurs and taste preferences and eating habits are formed, paving the way for the development of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and some cancers in later life.”

Researchers tested 651 products sold at the 10 largest grocery chains in the United States for children ages 6 months to 3 years old and compared them with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for 2022.

They found that nearly 60 percent of these foods did not meet WHO guidelines for nutritional quality, and none met promotional and marketing standards.

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“The lack of regulation in this area opens the door for the food industry to deceive busy parents,” said lead author Daisy Coyle, a dietitian at the George Institute.

Dunford said in a statement: Newsweek: “I don’t believe the intent was malicious. The intent was to sell products. It’s no secret that food companies will use marketing tactics to sell their products, and baby food is no exception.”

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“I don’t know any mothers who have the time to read and compare ingredient lists and nutrition labels before purchasing each product. I am a mother of two young children and even as a researcher in this field, I find it difficult to navigate the baby food aisle.”

“I too am guilty of using squeeze bags as an easy way to feed my children. But where regulation (or strong government pressure on the industry) can help is to make sure that everything on the product packaging is not misleading or deceptive in any way.”

“The concern is that baby food products use promotional phrases such as ‘organic’, ‘healthy’, ‘natural’ on their packages but also contain free sugar, added sodium or other undesirable ingredients.”

On average, infant and toddler food packaging contained four misleading health claims banned by WHO, but 99.4 percent contained at least one banned claim, with some containing as many as 11.

The most common of these was that 70 percent of products contained non-genetically modified (GMO) foods. 59 percent of products were labeled organic, while 25 percent said they did not contain artificial colors or flavors.

“We’ve seen this not only in the use of misleading claims, but also in the use of misleading names where the product name does not reflect the key ingredients found in the ingredient list,” Coyle said, noting that these claims create a health halo around these products.

“For example, snack and finger foods frequently reference fruit or vegetables in the product name, even though they are primarily made from flour or other starches.”

But the researchers also found that most of the baby foods they tested were unhealthy according to WHO guidelines. Specifically, 70 percent did not meet protein requirements, 44 percent exceeded sugar recommendations, a quarter contained too many calories, and a fifth were found to be too salty.

The sugar content was of particular concern to the study authors, as they said it could encourage children to develop a preference for sugary foods. They added that excessive sugar consumption is a primary cause of lifestyle diseases, including obesity and diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Baby bags were among the unhealthiest products rated, with less than 7 percent meeting total sugar recommendations. There has been a 900 percent increase in sales from bags in the past 13 years.

Dunford said: “Squeeze pouches, which we know dominate the market, account for around 60% of all baby food purchases… For example, squeeze pouches in other countries often carry a warning that the contents should be placed on a spoon or bowl and not sucked directly from the pouch.”

“But we found very few products in the US that did that, most of them actually encouraged consumption from the bag. That has dental implications… [and] “Eating behavior and its development.”

As a category, snack foods performed the worst, with none of the products evaluated meeting WHO nutritional recommendations. None contained enough protein, 90.3 percent contained too many calories, 87.1 percent contained too much sugar, and 71 percent contained added sugar or sweeteners.

The researchers concluded by calling for stricter regulation of the nutritional quality of baby food and the promotional messages allowed on its packaging.

“Our findings highlight the urgent need for better regulation and guidance in the infant and toddler food market in the U.S.; the health of future generations depends on it,” Dunford said.

One reason these foods scored so low in the analysis is that the WHO guidelines were developed in Europe, where promotional regulations are stricter, but Dunford says the guidelines are still valid, saying “the baby food market is no different.”

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References

Coyle, D. H., Shahid, M., Parkins, K., Hu, M., Padovan, M., & Dunford, E. K. (2024).Evaluation of the Nutritional and Promotional Profile of Commercial Foods for Infants and Toddlers in the United States. Nutrients, 16(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16160000