Many baby foods sold in the UK contain too much sugar, salt or inappropriate textures, despite being marketed as healthy options. This can misleads parents, fuel obesity and tooth decay in young children. The Government has issued new guidelines to give them 18 months to voluntarily make improvements to their nutritional composition, labelling and marketing practices. The government will consider additional or alternative measures if businesses fail to implement these guidelines.
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Press release and the Published Guidelines can be read here.
Many commercial baby foods are high in sugar, overly sweet, or contain added salt, with textures that are often inappropriate, and nutritionally unnecessary snacks dominate the shelves. These products are widely used by families, but they mislead parents into believing they are making healthy, age-appropriate choices – when in fact they risk fuelling weight gain and dental decay in the crucial early years of development.
Baby food manufacturers will be given 18 months to reduce sugar and salt levels in baby foods, and clearer labelling guidelines will be introduced to help parents understand more easily what food they are buying for their children.
With Government priorities already focused on children’s health – such as supervised toothbrushing for pre-schoolers and improving the School Food Standards – action to curb sugary baby foods is a clear next step to protect children’s health and support parents. However as the guidelines are only voluntary, an approach that has been shown to be insufficient to encourage manufacturers to change, we urge government to move towards legislation swiftly.
Katharine Jenner, Director, Obesity Health Alliance says
“For too long, commercial baby foods have been promoting high-sugar products disguised as ‘healthy options’, using misleading packaging. These new guidelines put the industry on notice: this practice must end. Making it easier for parents to buy healthier products is a baby step in the right direction – but what’s really needed is a giant leap.
“It should not even be possible to sell baby food that goes against official feeding guidance – and the public agrees, with three in four people supporting a ban on high-sugar baby foods. If the industry fails to act quickly, the Government must step in with mandatory rules to set children up for a lifetime of good health.“
Public Health Minister, Ashley Dalton, said:
“Every child deserves a healthy, happy start to life. But babies’ development is being harmed by poor diets and unhealthy food, holding them back and piling up pressure on the NHS.
“Too often, parents are bombarded with confusing labels, disguising unhealthy foods packed with hidden sugars and salt.
“Our Plan for Change will tackle this, giving parents the information they need and providing children with good nutritious food.
“I’m determined to make it far easier for parents to keep their children healthy. From working with influencers to get children exercising, to banning junk food ads near schools – our 10 Year Health Plan will help kids today be part of the healthiest generation of children ever.”
Our alliance members respond:
Dr Vicky Sibson, Director of First Steps Nutrition Trust said:
“Voluntary guidelines for the baby food industry are finally being published by the Department of Health and Social Care today, setting limits on sugar and salt and urging businesses to make product labels honest and in line with UK public health recommendations. They are a small step in the right direction towards clamping down on the longstanding and widespread poor practices of the baby food industry. These practices mislead parents and undermine their best efforts to feed their babies and toddlers healthy, age-appropriate diets.
“We welcome the DHSC’s plans to evaluate industry compliance with all aspects of the guidelines 18 months from now and look forward to seeing the evaluation plans. We also fully support their commitment to taking ‘further measures’ in the event that this voluntary measure fails. Recent research recommends stronger mandatory regulations rather than voluntary guidelines, and these also have strong public backing. The most appropriate measure would be to create new legislation to replace the current, out-dated baby food regulations from 2003. There is a ready-made tool from the WHO that can inform this process, called the Nutrient Promotion and Profile Model. We just need the political will to put the health of babies before business interests.
“In the meantime, recently updated NHS guidelines caution against relying on shop-bought baby and toddler foods and remind parents that home-prepared foods are often healthier and cheaper. It is vital that parents are given more support to feed their children diets based on nutritious minimally processed foods, as this will give them the best start in life”.
Dr Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Food Foundation, said:
“Giving every child the best start in life begins with good nutrition. Today’s announcement on commercial baby foods highlights the need to protect families from aggressive marketing and end misleading claims on sugary products. Our research found up to 43 claims on a single baby snack, despite many being high in sugar.
“The industry has been warned to clean up their act with voluntary guidelines, but to truly protect children, mandatory standards are needed. We urge the government to monitor progress closely and be ready to step in if companies don’t act.”
Dr Kawther Hashem, Head of Research and Impact at Action on Sugar, based at Queen Mary University of London, said:
“Our research has consistently shown excessive levels of sugars in commercial baby foods. Today’s announcement is a welcome recognition that more must be done to protect parents and children from baby foods unnecessarily high in sugars and misleading marketing.
These long-overdue voluntary guidelines are a step in the right direction, but they must not be the final word. Consuming too much sugar on a regular basis means children are taking in excess calories that, if not used for energy, are stored as fat. This increases the risk of weight gain, and if it starts early, that excess weight is often carried into adolescence and adulthood – raising the risk of overweight, obesity, and agonising tooth decay.
If we’re serious about protecting our youngest children, these guidelines must be made mandatory. We urge the government to closely monitor progress and act swiftly if companies fail to change.”
Maxine Palmer, Head of Service Development, National Childbirth Trust, said:
“Every parent should be able to make informed decisions about what they feed their baby, free from commercial influence and often misleading labelling. So NCT welcomes this step toward giving parents clearer, more accessible health information.
“Introducing solids from 6 months, alongside continued breastfeeding or milk feeds, is an important milestone.
“We urge manufacturers to implement the guidance on labelling and reducing sugar and salt content in baby foods, and for parents to continue to seek support and information from trusted sources when deciding what feeding journey is right for them.”