‘Many infant food products make claims that don’t match the main ingredients’

Auckland: From images of fruit to claims of being “sugar-free”, manufacturers of baby and toddler foods try to convince parents their products are a healthy choice, convenient and good for their child’s development. But as our new research shows, many are not.

We studied the packaging of 210 foods for infants and toddlers found in New Zealand supermarkets. Every package featured claims, and many showed images of fruit and vegetables, which didn’t reflect the main ingredients used.

The first thousand days of a child’s life are critical. This is when their brains and bodies are growing faster than they will at any other time in their lives. Optimal nutrition is essential at this time for healthy growth, wellbeing, development and to shape eating patterns for life.

It’s also a time when parents are often busy – and industry knows this. Manufacturers play on convenience and use marketing to badge foods that don’t support good health as “nutritious”.

On-pack claims are a powerful marketing tool, and they are effective. They influence consumer perceptions, drive purchasing decisions and can create a health halo around products that don’t deserve it.

The foods we studied had an average of between seven to eight claims on their packaging, with the worst offenders carrying up to 15 claims.

The most common claims were about ingredients that were not in the foods – “free from additives”, “free from colours”. This type of claim can distract parents from what is actually in the food, which could be a high sugar content or highly processed ingredients.

Other claims promoted the food as good for development or an easy choice, playing into parents’ desire to do what’s best for their child and to accommodate busy family lifestyles.

Parents shouldn’t have to sift through all these claims to find the information they need to select a healthy option.

Of all the foods, 60 per cent featured images of fruit and 40 per cent displayed images of vegetables, but most didn’t contain any whole fruits and vegetables.

Snack foods featuring vegetables often only contain tiny amounts of vegetable juice or powder, and foods featuring fruit images typically contain processed fruit sugars such as pastes and concentrates.

Of most concern was that one in five contained less than 5 per cent fruit. Images of fruits and vegetables give parents and carers the perception of healthiness and influence their purchasing decisions.agencies