Feeling confident with the baby food you’re purchasing? You may want to re-check those nutrition labels.
A new study published in the journal Nutrients has found nearly 60% of foods for babies and toddlers sold in major American retailers did not meet international nutritional guidelines set forth by the World Health Organization. Additionally, nearly 100% of the products had “at least [one] claim on-pack that was prohibited under” the WHO’s guidelines, “with some products displaying up to 11 prohibited claims.”
“Of all the products in the study, 70% did not meet WHO’s guidance on protein content and 25% failed to meet calorie recommendations, the researchers found. One in five baby or toddler foods contained salt levels above the organization’s suggested limits,” wrote Sandee LaMotte of CNN
Furthermore, nearly 25% of products contained “added or hidden sweeteners, with 44% of the baby and toddler foods exceeding WHO’s recommendations for total sugars.”
Dr. Elizabeth Dunford, an adjunct assistant professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told CNN: “Research shows 50% of the sugar consumed from infant foods comes from pouches and we found those were some of the worst offenders.”
According to LaMotte, sales of baby food pouches have risen by 900% in the past 13 years.
“These findings highlight that urgent work is needed to improve the nutritional quality of commercially produced infant and toddler foods in the United States,” the study researchers wrote. “The high use of prohibited claims also suggests the need to regulate the type and number of claims allowed on-pack.”