Unveiling the Truth on Infant Convenience Foods: A Wake-Up Call on World Health Day
Unveiling the Truth on Infant Convenience Foods: A Wake-Up Call on World Health Day
Carene Every year on April 7th, World Health Day reminds us to take a closer look at the choices we make for our health—and more importantly, for our children’s health. One critical area that deserves our attention is the growing reliance on infant convenience foods. Are they really as healthy and convenient as they claim to be? Let’s uncover the truth.
The Rise of Convenience Foods for Infants
"...the global baby food market is expected to reach $120 billion by 2030."
Close your eyes for a moment. Picture a little toddler sitting in the highchair, ready and eager to eat. What do you see? An open infant cereal box nearby? A pouch of a fruity puree? Teething biscuits? Juice? Puffs?…I can go on.
Our norms and perceptions of infant feeding have been shaped by industry. Clever marketing tactics and busy schedules have been controlling us like puppets. Ok, sure I might be a little dramatic, but this is something that really gets under my skin.
In today’s fast-paced world, convenience often trumps caution. Convenience is king in all aspects of our lives. With busy schedules, increased cost of living and growing responsibilities, many parents are turning to pre-packaged baby foods—pouches, jars, and snacks that promise nutrition, taste, and ease. It is no surprise that more and more of these products are available to us as the global baby food market is expected to reach $120 billion by 2030, this is largely driven by the increase in demand for ready-to-feed products due to changes in life-style, high number of woman in the workforce and an increase in birth rates (Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2023)
While there might be a small place for these types of food, the health and well-being of our little ones deserve more. Educating yourself to make more mindful decisions can greatly benefit those who cannot speak for themselves.
What’s Really Inside the Squish Packet?
“One in four baby foods in South Africa contain added sugars”
Not all baby foods are created equal. A closer look at the labels reveals high levels of sugar, salt, and preservatives in many commercially available products.
- Hidden Sugars: In a study conducted in South Africa in 2019, over 70% of products were found to be sweet in taste, with one in four containing added sugars. The sugar content was high in 78% of the foods that were sampled. More than 80% of the infant cereals and pureed desserts contained added sugar (SMJ, 2019). This appears to be a relatively wide spread trends with research from the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that over a third of baby foods in Europe contained added sugars or sweeteners, despite being marketed as suitable for infants under 6 months (WHO, 2015).
- Excessive Processing: Ultra-processed foods were essentially designed to create highly profitable, convenient, non-perishable and highly palatable foods. To achieve this, low-cost ingredients are used, the shelf-life is extended through preservatives, heat treated or partially cooked to allow for immediate consuming and added flavor compounds such as sodium, artificial flavors, sweeteners and fats. All of which displace essential nutrients, depriving the consumer of the nutritional value in food (Public Health Nutrition, 2019).
- Flavor Engineering: Infants are known to prefer sweet flavors as the natural carbohydrate in breast milk is sweet in taste. Studies suggest that frequent exposure to sweet flavors early in life can shape a lifelong preference for sugar-rich foods. Taste preferences and dietary habits developed early in life are said to carry over in adulthood (Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2023).
Why does It Matter so much what our little ones consume?
“Longitudinal studies have clearly dem¬onstrated a positive association between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity in young children.”
The first 1,000 days of life—from conception to two years—are critical for brain development, immune function, and metabolic programming (UNICEF, 2021). Poor nutrition during this period is strongly linked to:
- Increased risk of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes, stemming from long term exposure to sugar and increase caloric intake
- Increased risk of dental caries, caused by the high sugar and acidic foods combined with poor dental practices
- Strain to immature, growing organs such as the kidneys and liver to metabolize and filter all the artificial additives
- Impaired cognitive development due to the lack of essential nutrients and intense blood glucose fluctuations
- Poor dietary patterns in later years from the negative nutritional programming
We know that homemade foods prepared with fresh ingredients have a higher nutrient density and fewer additives compared to many of the commercial alternatives.
Early nutrition shapes long term health outcomes. Creating a platform for your child’s health and well-being through healthy dietary habits, early in life can yield exponential positive outcomes.
There is hope…you can take matters into your own hands!
- Read the Labels: Be wary of hidden sugars, thickeners, and preservatives—especially in fruit pouches and toddler snacks. A general rule of thumb to identify the ultra-processed foods, is to look for ingredients that you would not normally find in your kitchen such as high fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed proteins, hydrogenated oils, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, flavor enhancers, colors, emulsifiers, anti-caking agents, etc.
- Prioritize Whole Foods: Soft-cooked meats and vegetables, mashed or stewed fruits, and grains or lentils are easy to prepare in safe forms and more nutritious. As your baby progresses with solid food introduction and becomes more skilled at eating, less preparation and cooking may be required.
Witty Weaning Online Lecture
- Make Time for Meal-Prep: Cook food in bulk and freeze baby meals or ingredients to save time during the week. Take the time over weekends to capitalize on preparing a variety of foods, while storing some leftovers. The freezer is your friend! Building skill and confidence in the kitchen takes time, so start slowly, but preserve and you will reap the benefits.
- Seek Professional Guidance: Pediatric dietitians can help guide you on age-appropriate foods, creating safe, nutrient-rich weaning plans that suit your unique lifestyle.
Shifting from convenience to conscious consumers on World Health Day
I hope you have become inspired to prioritize making a conscious effort to spend time on the health of your family. There is a lot we can do as the consumer; we have power over the market. However, the responsibility is not ours alone.
The Code of International Marketing of breast milk substitutes relating to foodstuffs for Infants and Young Children (R991) was released by the South African Government in 2012. Most of the regulations set out in this code were shaped around the breast milk substitutes and food products of that time. Since then, this industry has boomed with a flood of new products being added to the market. Marketing strategies have changed dramatically with the use of social media and influencers being used to target this market population. Needless to say, the code is in dire need of an update to include all of the current elements to provide improved protection from these companies.
The baby food industry needs to be pressured to take the health of the youth seriously. They must be held accountable through:
- Stricter regulations: There is desperate need for legislation to enforce the mandatory disclosure of added sugar by manufacturers, and a clear separation of added and natural sugars on the nutritional label (SMJ, 2019).
- Transparent marketing practices: Truthful images and messages should be used for marketing. Avoiding exploitation of parental guilt and time constraints is likely to reduce the drive to purchase convenience foods.
- Clear front-of-pack nutrition labeling: Manufacturers should add warning logos that infant foods contain sugars exceeding the daily recommended values (SMJ, 2019).
Governments and global health organizations have a huge role to play in this regard. Including more education on this topic during schooling and antenatal appointments. Applying similar strategies to the baby food industry as with general consumables, such as the increased taxes on unhealthy foods, enforced limitations on sodium content and heart healthy logos on healthier food alternatives (SMJ, 2019).
We as health care professionals should educate ourselves on the ultra-processed foods available and frequently used in our area, so we can better warm and educate our patients. Act preventatively, instead of curatively once there is a problem.
Food for Thought…
Someone once asked me, “Is it really that big of a deal if a child just lives on fishfingers and chips?” I answered with the question, “Well, how would you feel if you just lived on fish fingers and chips?” There was a long pause and a dramatic change in facial expression. I then elaborated by explaining that you would probably be able to function and survive, but you would not be able to thrive. This is even more true for growing infants and children. They grow and develop at rapid rates, requiring so much more nutrients. They develop behaviors and habits that will shape their future. Why not give them the best chance of being their best self?
Choosing the right foods for our babies is one of the most powerful investments we can make in their future.
So, the take home message for all of us is…
Don’t just survive…Thrive!
References:
Dunford, E. and Popkin, B. (2023) ‘Ultra-processed food for infants and toddlers; dynamics of supply and demand’, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 101(05), pp. 358–360. doi:10.2471/blt.22.289448.
Marais, N.C. et al. (2019) ‘Evidence for high sugar content of Baby Foods in South Africa’, South African Medical Journal, 109(5), p. 328. doi:10.7196/samj.2019.v109i5.13314.
Who guideline : Sugar consumption recommendation (no date) World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news/item/04-03-2015-who-calls-on-countries-to-reduce-sugars-intake-among-adults-and-children (Accessed: 24 April 2025).
Monteiro, C.A. et al. (2019) ‘Ultra-processed foods: What they are and how to identify them’, Public Health Nutrition, 22(5), pp. 936–941. doi:10.1017/s1368980018003762.
