Promising claims on food packaging, especially on baby foods, such as ‘organic’, ‘preservative-free’, no added sweeteners’ ‘or no artificial colors’, would appear to be a healthy option for your young child,, but they could just as well be deceptive marketing tactics.
A new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina in the United States , which examined over 600 baby-food products from the top 10 grocery stores in the US, found that nearly 60 percent of them do not meet the nutrition standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
More specifically, the researchers found that 70 percent of ready-to-eat food products for infants and toddlers, usually provided in convenient squeeze-pouches, failed to meet the WHO’s protein requirements and 44 percent exceeded total sugar requirements.
Not meeting or exceeding the WHO’s nutrition requirements does not just have short-term health implications for kids. Foods introduced at that age will shape their future palate, influencing what flavors and ingredients they will prefer as they grow up, and choose as adults.
More incriminating was the fact that none of the products examined by the researchers met the promotional claims on the back of packaging used to advertise and market the product. Information provided on the food packing is supposed to help people make informed choices. If the information provided is blatantly false, as the research found, then the authorities need to act swiftly to address this issue.
Pediatricians also point out that baby food provided in squeeze pouches pose a particular threat to the eating development of kids. Sucking down foods from a pouch reduces the ability to learn how to eat from a spoon. If we provide food in squeeze pouches — for our convenience of not having to clean up the mess created by infants and toddlers when they are learning to eat — they will miss out on that important eating behavior development phase.
Additionally, most people would find it difficult to decide which product in the baby food aisle is the better choice for their children. Not only do many people not know what to look for in baby food products, even more people do not understand the jargon used to detail ingredients in food packaging.
As young parents you would be best advised to take a look at the back of the package to see what the total sugar content is, and watchout to make sure there are no added sugars listed. Also, scan the list of ingredients to see if there are any items that you do not understand, and clarify this with your pediatrician or dietician.
But then, not everyone flips the package around to look at the label on the back, with research on the topic showing that most people do not do so. Switching to front-of-package labeling, which has been done in many countries around the world, would be a welcome change.
Even more importantly, introducing policies to ensure that what is advertised on the front, is accurately reflected in the contents inside the pack, would be a potential game-changer, especially considering the importance of good quality foods for the growth and health of infants and toddlers.
