Parents are being "deceived" by health claims on baby food products sold in major U.S. grocery stores, according to research published today.
Manufacturers use promotional claims to distract consumers from a product's poor nutritional profile and give the misleading impression of healthiness, wrote researchers from The George Institute for Global Health in scientific journal Nutrients.
"Time-poor parents are increasingly choosing convenience foods, unaware that many of these products lack key nutrients needed for their child's development and tricked into believing they are healthier than they really are," said Elizabeth Dunford, nutrition scientist at the University of North Carolina.
"Early childhood is a crucial period of rapid growth and when taste preferences and dietary habits form, potentially paving the way for the development of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and some cancers later in life."
Researchers tested 651 products sold in the top 10 grocery chains in the U.S. for children 6 months to 3 years old, comparing them to recommendations set out by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2022.
They found that nearly 60 percent of these foods failed to meet the WHO's guidelines for nutritional quality, and none met its standards for promotion and marketing.
Lead author Daisy Coyle, dietitian at The George Institute, said: "The lack of regulation in this area leaves the door wide open for the food industry to deceive busy parents."
Dunford clarified in a statement for Newsweek: "I don't believe that the intent is malicious. The intent is to sell products. It is no secret that food companies will use marketing tactics to sell their products and baby foods are no exception."
"I don't know any mom who has the time to sit and read ingredient lists and nutrition labels to compare each product before they buy them. I am a mom of two young children, and even as someone who is a researcher in this area, I find it difficult to navigate the baby food aisle."
"I am also guilty of using squeeze pouches as a convenient way to feed my children. But where regulation (or a strong push from government to industry) can help is to ensure that whatever is on the product package is not misleading or deceptive in any way."
"The concern is that baby food products may use promotional claims on packs such as 'organic,' 'healthy,' 'natural' but also contain free sugars, added sodium, or other less desirable ingredients."
On average, the infant and toddler foods featured four misleading health claims prohibited by WHO on their packaging—but 99.4 percent featured at least one prohibited claim, and some had as many as 11.
The most common of these was that foods were non-genetically modified (GM), appearing on 70 percent of products, while 59 percent were labeled as organic, and 25 percent said they contained no artificial colors and flavors.
Coyle said that these claims created a health halo around these products, adding: "We saw this not only in the use of misleading claims but also in the use of misleading names, where the product name did not reflect the main ingredients found on the ingredients list."
"For example, snack and finger foods often referred to fruit or vegetables in the product name, despite primarily being made of flour or other starches."
However, researchers also found that most baby foods they tested were unhealthy, according to WHO guidelines. Specifically, 70 percent failed to meet protein requirements, 44 percent exceeded sugar recommendations, 1 in 4 contained too many calories, and 1 in 5 were deemed too salty.
The sugar content was of particular concern to study authors, who said it could encourage children to develop a preference for sugary foods. They added that excess sugar consumption is a primary cause of obesity and lifestyle diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.
Baby pouches ranked among the unhealthiest products assessed, with less than 7 percent meeting total sugar recommendations. There has been a 900 percent increase in the proportion of sales from pouches over the last 13 years.
Dunford said: "Squeeze pouches we know dominate the market, and make up around 60% of all baby food purchases ... Squeeze pouches in other countries, for example, often carry a warning stating that contents should be put onto a spoon or in a bowl and not sucked directly from the pouch."
"However, in the US we found an extremely small number of products that did this, with most in fact encouraging consumption from the pouch. This has implications for dental health ... [and] eating behavior and development."
As a category, snack foods performed worst; none of the products assessed met the WHO's nutrition recommendations. None contained sufficient protein, 90.3 percent contained too many calories, 87.1 percent contained too much sugar, and 71 percent contained added sugars or sweeteners.
Researchers concluded by calling for tighter regulations on the nutritional quality of baby food and the promotional messaging allowed on its packaging.
"Our findings highlight the urgent need for better regulation and guidance in the infant and toddler foods market in the United States—the health of future generations depends on it," said Dunford.
Part of the reason these foods stacked up so poorly against analysis is because the WHO's guidelines were developed in Europe where promotional regulations are stricter, but Dunford said they were still applicable, as "the baby food market is not altogether different."
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References
Coyle, D. H., Shahid, M., Parkins, K., Hu, M., Padovan, M., & Dunford, E. K. (2024). An 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
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