Commercial Baby Foods Aimed at Children up to 36 Months: Are They a Matter of Concern?

Santos, Mariana; Matias, Filipa; Loureiro, Isabel; Rito, Ana Isabel; Castanheira, Isabel; Bento, Alexandra; Assunção, Ricardo

doi:10.3390/foods11101424

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Overall, the nutritional quality of baby biscuits in this study was very similar to recent findings from Grammatikaki et al (2021) on 233 baby biscuits and rusks from 27 European countries. In contrast, all baby biscuits in our study contained added free sugar, while other studies (e.g., Grammatikaki et al, 2021;Hutchinson et al, 2021;Santos et al, 2022) found a percentage of products with no added free sugar. Also, some studies have described lower values of salt as compared to the present study (Elliott, 2011;Elliott & Conlon, 2014;Garcia et al, 2020;McCann et al, 2022).…”

Section: Nutritional Quality Evaluation Of Biscuitscontrasting

confidence: 99%

Baby, children, and adult biscuits. Differences in nutritional quality and naturalness

Klerks,

Román,

Sánchez‐Siles

2023

Food Science & Nutrition

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This study examined and compared the nutritional quality and degree of naturalness between baby biscuits (<3 years), children biscuits (>3 years), and adult biscuits. Mintel's Global New Products Database was searched for “Baby Biscuits & Rusks” and “Sweet Biscuits/Cookies” (re)launched between July 2019 and July 2022 in four European countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom), which resulted in 1280 products to be analyzed. Nutritional quality was measured by means of nutrient values per 100 g, and baby biscuits were assessed for compliance with the World Health Organization's latest Nutrient and Promotion Profile Model (NPPM). Degree of naturalness was measured using the food naturalness index (FNI). Baby biscuits had the best nutritional quality and were the most natural as compared to children and adult biscuits, but their energy density and sugar content require further attention. Nutritional quality was comparably poor in children and adult biscuits, and children biscuits were the least natural of the three groups. The NPPM requirements of not adding any free sugar at all to baby biscuits may drive parents to purchase alternative sweeter biscuits originally formulated and meant for children and adults. Reasonable regulations are needed to support product (re)formulations and to improve the current market food offer for babies and children.

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Section: Nutritional Quality Evaluation Of Biscuitscontrasting

confidence: 99%

Baby, children, and adult biscuits. Differences in nutritional quality and naturalness

Klerks,

Román,

Sánchez‐Siles

2023

Food Science & Nutrition

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“…Product labels also revealed concerning practices, with nearly all labels displaying an inappropriate claim. The high prevalence of claims on CPCF finger foods/snacks has been noted previously among products available in HIC contexts Santos et al, 2022), with some research showing an increase in the number of claims on CPCF labels .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Benchmarking the nutrient composition and labelling practices of finger foods and snacks for older infants and young children across seven Southeast Asian countries

Pries,

Bassetti,

White

et al. 2023

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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Ensuring consumption of nutrient‐dense, safe and appropriate complementary foods among older infants and young children (IYC) 6–36 months of age is critical for enabling optimal growth and development. The ubiquitous availability of and high demand for commercially packaged snack foods has culminated in a growing trend of snack food products specifically produced and promoted for older IYC. Commercially produced complementary foods (CPCF) that are finger foods/snacks often contain added sugars, excessive sodium content and high total sugar content, making them inappropriate for this young population. This study benchmarked the nutrient composition and labelling practices of CPCF finger foods/snacks available for purchase in seven countries in Southeast Asia. The study adapted a nutrient profiling model from the WHO Regional Office for Europe to determine the proportion of products suitable for promotion for older IYC. Of the total 606 products identified, 8.2% were automatically categorized as not suitable because they were confectionery items. Of the remaining 556 products assessed, over 85% failed to meet all nutrient composition requirements, with the presence of added sugars/sweeteners and excessive sodium and total sugar contents the primary reasons for failure. Products also demonstrated concerning labelling practices, with all of the products (98.6%) displaying an inappropriate claim on the label. These findings reveal major concerns with the nutrient composition and labelling practices of CPCF finger foods/snacks in the SEA region and should serve as an alarm bell for regulatory action. National binding legal measures, such as mandatory standards for composition and labelling are urgently needed.

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“…According to Santiago (2022), the values of reducing sugars found show the presence of glucose in the composition of baby food, and the levels of non-reducing sugars indicate the presence of sucrose in these foods. Santos et al (2022) in a study of label analysis of infant foods, found that the majority had irregularities that compromised child health and were in non-compliance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization for nutritional labeling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring sugar content in infant foods

Santos¹,

Kluczkovski²,

Souza³

et al. 2023

Braz. J. Hea. Rev.

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High sugar consumption increases the chance of developing diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cancer, as well as cavities and bacterial plaque between teeth. Considering the increase in health problems related to sugar intake in the population, the objective of this work was to monitor the presence and amount of sugar in baby food based on fruits and vegetables from different companies sold in Brazil. Titrimetric methods (Lane-Eynon) and total sugar content were used, based on total soluble solids (TSS) in degrees Brix. In the titration method, it was possible to quantify reducing and non-reducing sugars and total sugar by the redox reaction of Fehling's liquor. Baby food with the highest levels of total sugars, presented 22.72% (assorted fruits) and 21.84% (plum base). The lowest total sugars content was 2.50% (from pumpkin and coconut milk composition). TSS analysis confirmed the presence of sugars found in the titration method. We concluded that the baby foods evaluated had relevant sugar content and there is a need for constant monitoring to avoid excesses by children, as well as careful attention to their nutritional information declared on the label, considering that high sugar consumption causes risks to the health.

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Commercial Baby Foods Aimed at Children up to 36 Months: Are They a Matter of Concern?

Cited by 9 publications

References 43 publications

Baby, children, and adult biscuits. Differences in nutritional quality and naturalness

Baby, children, and adult biscuits. Differences in nutritional quality and naturalness

Benchmarking the nutrient composition and labelling practices of finger foods and snacks for older infants and young children across seven Southeast Asian countries

Monitoring sugar content in infant foods

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