Unregulated claims on baby food are misleading parents, new analysis finds

Most of the baby food products sold in Australian supermarkets fail to meet standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), leaving advocates concerned that parents are being misled by claims made by advertisers. 

 

Researchers from the George Institute for Global Health compared the nutritional and promotional data of 309 infant food products sold in Australian supermarkets against standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), finding that only 22 per cent of products met all WHO nutritional criteria, while 0 per cent met the “no prohibited claims” requirement.

 

In other words, none of the products sold for children aged between 6 – 36 months of age met the international standards and guidelines from promotion, and more than three quarters of those products failed to meet overall nutritional requirements, mainly due to excess energy and sugar.

 

Children consuming a high number of calories early in life ‘sets them up’ for obesity later on, while the early introduction of highly sweetened foods drives lifelong taste preferences, lead author Dr Elizabeth Dunford explained. 

 

“Time-poor parents are looking for convenience, but most would be shocked by industry’s deceptive marketing tactics suggesting products are healthier than they are, that are rife across this category,” she said. “They would probably also be surprised to know that regulatory safeguards to protect children from exposure to unhealthy food marketing are currently very limited.”

 

Information on 309 infant and toddler food products held in The George Institute’s FoodSwitch database was assessed against the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s Nutrient and Promotion Profile Model (NPPM), published in 2022 and considered a gold standard benchmark.

 

George Institute researchers found that only just over a fifth of the products (22 per cent) met all WHO criteria for nutrient composition – most failing on sugar and calorie content – and none met the ‘no prohibited claims’ requirement. Prohibited claims include statements like, ‘free from colours and flavours’, ‘organic’ and ‘no added sugar’.

 

“We found the average number of prohibited claims in this category was 5.6 – in one case, we saw 21 different prohibited claims on a single product,” added Dr Dunford. “Pouches, which account for half of commercial infant food sales and are growing exponentially, had the greatest number of prohibited claims at an average of 5.8 per package.”

 

An estimated one in four children are overweight or obese. Australian Infant Feeding Guidelines state that ‘consumption of nutrient-poor foods with high levels of fat/ saturated fat, sugar, and/or salt should be avoided or limited’ and that no sugars should be added to food for children under 12 months of age.

 

For Dr Daisy Coyle, dietitian and Research Fellow at The George Institute, the use of health and nutrition content claims and wellness messaging on infant and toddler foods that are probably, in fact, unhealthy was concerning.

 

“These claims are commonly used on unhealthy products and can contribute to a ‘health halo’ effect, leading consumers to believe they are healthy,” she said.

 

“And all too often we see products highlight what they don’t have, such as ‘no gluten’, or ‘no additives’, rather than what they do contain such as high levels of added sugars.”

 

Responding to concerns about the steep rise in chronic disease related to overweight and obesity, Food Ministers launched a public consultation into improving commercial foods for infants and children in Australia and New Zealand in August, submissions for which closed earlier this month. 

 

Potential regulatory actions are being considered, including reviewing appropriate claims use and restricting the number of claims permitted on the pack, priorities that are supported by this study.

 

“We know these claims and messages influence what parents buy for infants and toddlers in the critical early years. The food industry is essentially setting the foundations for unhealthy eating later in life and this situation urgently requires regulation,” Dr Coyle added.

 

“We’d want to see a more comprehensive approach to addressing key drivers of chronic disease from infancy. The long-term health of future generations depends on it.”

Access Commercially‐produced infant and toddler foods – How healthy are they? An evaluation of products sold in Australian supermarkets using the link provided.