A new study by researchers at the George Institute for Global Health found that nearly two thirds of infant and toddler foods tested failed to meet nutritional recommendations set by the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The findings were published in Nutrients.
 
The authors of the study, who noted that there are no U.S. specific guidelines for infant and toddler foods, decided to test 651 infant and toddler food products purchased from ten retailers against the international benchmark.
 
Most (70%) of products failed to meet WHO’s protein recommendations, and 44% contained excessive amounts of sugar. One in four products didn’t meet calorie requirements, and one in five exceeded recommended sodium limits. About 93% of products met WHO’s fat recommendations.
 
While not required to do so in the U.S., 57.5% of infant and toddler foods complied with WHO’s age-label recommendations, which say that foods should be marketed toward specified ages in years or months. Many products had implied claims, by using words like “sitter,” “tots,” “crawling baby,” or “toddler.” No products with excessive sugar content displayed a front-of-pack high-sugar flag on the label, as recommended by WHO.  
 
The rising popularity of processed convenience foods for infants and young children is concerning, given that these products largely aren’t holding up against WHO’s guidelines, according to Elizabeth Dunford, PhD, research fellow at the George Institute and adjunct assistant professor at the University of North Carolina’s department of nutrition.
 
“Early childhood is a crucial period of rapid growth 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,” she said. “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 are.”
 
According to the authors, baby food pouches were the fastest growing products in this sector, with a 900% increase in sales in the past 13 years. But pouches ranked among the least healthy products assessed, with fewer than 7% meeting total sugar recommendations.
 
Daisy Coyle, PhD, research fellow and dietitian at the George Institute, said that misleading claims were prevalent on the packaging of products assessed. For instance, only 72.7% of products had a product name that accurately reflected the order of ingredients on the ingredients list.
 
“The lack of regulation in this area leaves the door wide open for the food industry to deceive busy parents. 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,” said Coyle. “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.”
 
“No commercially produced infant and toddler food products available for purchase from the top 10 grocery store retailers in the United States met international standards for nutrition and product promotion. These findings should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers,” the authors stated in their conclusion.