Babyfood suppliers told to cut sugar and salt levels

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A BBC investigation in April hammered leading babyfood suppliers over the nutritional content of their products

Babyfood manufacturers must reduce the levels of salt and sugar in their products in the next 18 months, the government has said.

Under new guidance published this morning, suppliers have been told they must address the health credentials of their products and tackle misleading marketing and labelling claims that make babyfoods appear healthier than they are.

The reforms are part of the government’s 10-year Plan for Change and are designed to tackle concerns around the levels of sugar found in snack foods for young children up to 36 months old.

Suppliers are being given 18 months to change the recipes for their products and reduce levels of salt and sugar, without using sweeteners. They must also stop promoting snacks for babies under the age of one, as this contradicts government recommendations that children aged six to 12 months need only milk between meals.

Labelling guidelines would also be overhauled to “help parents shop easier and make informed choices about what they feed their children”, the Department for Health and Social Care said.

While the guidelines are voluntary, meaning there is no legal requirement for manufacturers to follow them, the government said it would “take further measures” if needed.

Healthy start

“Every child deserves a healthy, happy start to life. But babies’ development is being harmed by poor diets and unhealthy food, holding them back and piling up pressure on the NHS,” said public health minister Ashley Dalton. “Too often, parents are bombarded with confusing labels, disguising unhealthy foods packed with hidden sugars and salt.

“Our Plan for Change will tackle this, giving parents the information they need and providing children with good nutritious food.”

The guidelines have been broadly welcomed by industry, with Ali Morpeth, visiting research fellow at Leeds University, describing them as a “welcome acknowledgement that the babyfood market is not working in the interests of young children and families”.

Morpeath published the Commercial Baby Foods in Crisis report earlier this year, which analysed over 600 products and surveyed 1,000 parents, finding many babyfoods were high in sugar and “labelled in confusing ways”.

Dr Diane Threapleton, who co-authored the report, said the draft guidelines “recognise what parents have known for years – that too many babyfoods are high in sugar, poorly labelled, and not fit for purpose. They improve on the status quo, but without stronger, mandatory standards we risk repeating the same mistakes.”

A sugar high

Today’s announcement comes after a BBC Panorama investigation in April found leading brands including Ella’s Kitchen and Heinz were guilty of producing food pouches excessively high in sugar and lacking in key nutrients.

Also in April, Food Foundation research with Action on Sugar described babyfood marketing as “out of control”, with an average of 20 on-pack marketing claims per product.

The most common marketing claims related to the natural or healthy nature of the ingredients, the researchers found. Many of the products claiming to be healthy – or ‘free from nasties’ – still contained high amounts of sugars.

“For too long, commercial babyfoods have been promoting high-sugar products disguised as ‘healthy options’, using misleading packaging,” Obesity Health Alliance director Katharine Jenner told The Grocer.

“These new guidelines put the industry on notice: this practice must end. Making it easier for parents to buy healthier products is a baby step in the right direction – but what’s really needed is a giant leap. If the industry fails to act quickly, the government must step in with mandatory rules to set children up for a lifetime of good health.“

First Steps Nutrition Trust director Vicky Sibson was similarly cautious, telling The Grocer she believed the voluntary nature of the guidelines made it “unlikely we will see good compliance”. She described the recommendations as “not sufficiently clear, comprehensive or stringent compared to WHO guidelines”.

“We look forward to the DHSC’s evaluation after 18 months and urge them to take this time to prepare to strengthen existing outdated regulations in line with the WHO Nutrient Promotion & Profile Model and UK public health recommendations,” she added.

Data from the National Diet & Nutrition Survey shows more than two-thirds of children aged 18 months to three years are eating too much sugar, while over a fifth of children aged four to five years are overweight or living with obesity in England.