claims on Baby Food Fail to stack Up, New Zealand Study Finds
A recent study from the University of Auckland has revealed that marketing claims on packaged infant and toddler foods frequently enough don’t align with the actual nutritional content, possibly misleading parents.Published in Nutrition and Dietetics, the research examined the packaging of baby and toddler foods sold in New Zealand, uncovering a high density of marketing messages.
Researchers found an average of 7.5 claims per package, with a range from three to fifteen. These claims largely fell into two categories: “free from” statements (like “free from additives”) and general marketing assertions, such as “for growing kids on the go.” Dr.Sally Mackay, a senior lecturer in population nutrition at the University of Auckland’s faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, noted the overwhelming number of messages makes it tough for caregivers to discern useful details.
Dr. Berit Follong, a postdoctoral fellow in the same faculty, explained that these claims aim not only to portray products as healthy but also as convenient and beneficial for a child’s development.
The study also highlighted discrepancies between packaging imagery and actual ingredients. While 60% of products featured images of fruit and 40% displayed vegetables, many contained minimal amounts of these ingredients. One example cited was a snack food labeled with “purple carrot” containing only a tiny amount of purple carrot juice and no actual vegetable. furthermore, the research found that three out of five products with fruit imagery contained processed fruit sugars, and one in five contained less than 5% fruit.
Misleading product names were also identified as a concern. In over half of savory meals, the name didn’t accurately reflect the order of ingredients by quantity. As an example, a product named “Organic Beef and Vege Ragout” contained only 10% beef, with vegetables constituting the primary ingredient.
the findings echo similar research conducted in Australia, wich found that only about a quarter of packaged baby and toddler foods met World Health Organization (WHO) nutritional guidelines, despite featuring health-focused claims.
The University of Auckland researchers support current consideration by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to regulate these claims. Both Dr. Mackay and Dr. Follong believe the current marketing practices are misleading to parents striving to make informed choices for their children. They advocate for a ban on claims on baby and toddler packaged foods, replaced with simple and accurate nutritional information.
The study also acknowledges existing research demonstrating that visual imagery of fruits and vegetables can enhance perceptions of healthiness, emphasizing the need to restrict the use of this marketing technique to products where whole fruits and vegetables are a substantial component.
