Several studies have been done recently highlighting the levels of lead in popular baby foods. However, what about everything else in baby foods?
Researchers from the Georgia Institute for Global Health looked at the overall nutritional makeup of baby foods found on store shelves across the U.S. and found that 60% aren’t as healthy as they claim to be.
The study found that many don’t meet the limits for protein, sugar, calories, or sodium, and the labeling leads parents to believe that the products are much healthier than they claim to be.
“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,” said researcher Dr. Elizabeth Dunford.
“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.”
Putting baby foods to the test
For the study, the researchers tested over 650 infant and toddler foods sold at the 10 biggest grocery chains across the country.
While there are no nutritional or promotional guidelines for baby foods in the U.S., the researchers compared their findings against the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Nutrient and Promotion Profile Model and the organization’s database FoodSwitch.
Ultimately, when it came to nutritional content, 60% of the foods tested failed to meet the WHO’s guidelines.
Protein and sugar were the two biggest culprits for manufacturers – 70% failed to meet the requirements for protein content, and 44% exceeded the sugar recommendations. However, 20% of foods surpassed sodium recommendations, and 25% didn’t meet calorie recommendations.
Correcting food labels
In addition to nutritional content, the researchers learned that none of the foods tested met the WHO’s guidelines for promotion and labeling.
Nearly all food products contain marketing phrases such as “organic” or “fat free,” among several others. When it comes to baby food, 99.4% of those involved in this study made claims that are prohibited by the WHO.
The most common: 70% said the product was “non-genetically modified.” Additionally, nearly 60% claimed to be organic, 37% said they contained no BPA, and 25% said they contained no artificial colors/flavors.
“The lack of regulation in this area leaves the door wide open for the food industry to deceive busy parents,” said researcher Dr. Daisy Coyne.
“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 ingredient 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.”