Should regulations on baby food be tightened? This is the question that arises after the publication this Thursday of a study by the consumer defense association CLCV. Carried out in June and July from 207 food products intended for children under three years old, this survey reveals that these foods are often too sweet or contain too many flavorings and additives.
Despite recurring display of the “health” label on products, “30% of references contain sweetening ingredients”, such as sugar, honey or chocolate. 38% contain additives. “We have noticed a proliferation of nutritional and ‘health’ claims on products that should be limited because they are too sweet and contain flavorings and additives,” indicates the association. “This is an observation that is all the more alarming as the proliferation of snack and dessert type products in infant food aisles normalizes the concept of snacking and eating sweet desserts at the end of a meal,” regrets CLCV. In detail, “85% of the dairy products studied contain sweetening ingredients”, whether sugar, cane sugar, dextrose or even caramel. In addition, “77% of sweet or savory snacks contain various sweetening ingredients” reports the study.
For example, the association cites the case of P’tit gourmand white chocolate flavor from Nestlé, which displays the words “reduced in sugar”, even though it still contains 10 g/100 g of sugar, i.e. 3 times more than ‘a classic natural whole milk yogurt. As for the Blédidej vanilla-flavored biscuit dairy product from Blédina, a 250 ml carton contains 5 additives and the equivalent of 2.5 lumps of sugar. The finding is all the more worrying as 29% of children aged 2 to 4 are overweight or obese according to the latest figures published in 2020.
These foods for very young children are therefore described as “harmful” by the association, which takes the opportunity to denounce “regulations which do not go far enough”. “These findings show that European regulations are not strict enough for manufacturers and should be updated.” It “must set maximum levels of sugars, fats and salt, based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization,” believes the association, which also asks “industrialists to improve the quality of the ‘offer of infant food products’. And calls on all consumers, especially parents, to “be vigilant and check the list of ingredients”.
