The UK government has announced that guidelines around baby food are changing. Manufacturers are to reduce salt and sugar in baby food sold to babies under 36 months.
Baby food manufacturers must make these reductions without the use of sweeteners, as these are not permitted to be used in commercial baby food. Industry compliance will be evaluated in 18 months.
The announcement came as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
Guidelines will be introduced for parents as well, to help them understand what they’re giving to their children.
Many have welcomed the news. “For too long, commercial baby foods have been promoting high-sugar products disguised as ‘healthy options’, using misleading packaging,” says Katharine Jenner, Director, Obesity Health Alliance.
“These new guidelines put the industry on notice: this practice must end.“
Furthermore, the guidelines aim to tackle misleading marketing claims, which make baby food products appear healthier than they actually are, such as labels claiming products contain “no nasties” when they are high in sugar.
They will also aim to deal with labelling which also misleads parents, and can contradict official feeding advice.
Some products, for example, are labelled as snacks for babies of seven months onwards, in spite of the fact that babies do not need snacks between meals until they are over a year old, only milk.
The news comes soon after a recent study revealed the poor diets of many of the UK’s babies.