Key Points
- New research has found most Australian foods for infants and young children do not meet international nutritional guidelines.
- The majority of these foods are also marketed using questionable health claims, research shows.
- The sachets had the highest number of banned claims, while only half met the WHO’s total sugar requirements.
Most Australian baby and toddler foods do not meet international nutritional guidelines and make questionable health claims in their marketing.
More than three-quarters of 309 food products featured in a recently published study by the George Institute for Global Health failed to meet overall nutritional needs, often because they contained too much sugar.
None of the products studied met World Health Organization (WHO) standards for prohibited claims, which include marketing based on claims such as no added sugar, being organic or absence of colorings and flavorings.
Food ministers from Australia and New Zealand met in July and launched a public consultation on improving commercial foods for infants and children after an outbreak of chronic diseases linked to obesity.
But the lead author of the study, published Tuesday in the journal Maternal and Child Nutrition, said much of this disease could be attributed to children eating foods high in sugar from a young age and developed a sweet tooth later in life.
“Time-poor parents are looking for convenience, but most would be shocked by the industry’s misleading marketing tactics suggesting products are healthier than they are, which are commonplace in this category,” said Elizabeth Dunford.
“They would probably also be surprised to learn that regulatory safeguards to protect children from exposure to unhealthy food marketing are currently very limited.”
Pouches – Australia’s most popular infant and toddler food market – had the highest number of banned claims, while only half met the WHO’s total sugar requirements.
This finding was supported by other research suggesting that the sachets contained more sugar than other products in the food market from six to 36 months, according to the George Institute study.
Given the links between sugar and obesity and related diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and cancers, policymakers should set limits on how much can be included in these products, the researchers said.
Other regulatory options include limiting the number of claims allowed on each package.
“We know that these claims and messages influence what parents buy for infants and toddlers during the critical early years…the food industry essentially lays the foundation for unhealthy diets later in life and this This situation urgently requires regulation,” said Daisy Coyle, a registered dietitian at the George Institute.
“We would like to see a more comprehensive approach to addressing key drivers of chronic disease in early childhood…the long-term health of future generations depends on it.”
