Nearly 2/3 of grocery store baby foods fail to meet WHO nutritional guidelines

Trying to feed your little one is no easy feat, especially given the crippling lack of time and resources so many parents have—and that’s without mentioning the ever-rising cost of groceries these days. Relying on quick, grab-and-go options is a necessity for so many caregivers, but it turns out that the vast majority of US grocery store baby foods fail to meet global standard nutritional guidelines. In fact, nearly every food tested featured misleading marketing claims, as researchers have discovered.

According to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients, 60% of 651 foods aimed at children between the ages of 6 and 36 months failed to meet recommended nutritional guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO) for infant and toddler foods. Of these items, 70% failed to meet protein recommendations, 44% exceeded total sugar recommendations and 20% surpassed sodium guidelines, as outlined by the organization. WHO guidelines were used since there are no U.S.-specific nutrition guidelines for baby food. (We know, yikes.)

Even worse? Nearly all of the 651 products in the study—99.4%—contained at least one marketing claim that was prohibited by WHO recommendations. Commonly found misleading claims include terms like “non-genetically modified,” or “non-GM” (70%); “organic” (59%); “no BPA (bisphenol A)” (37%); and “no artificial colors or flavors” (25%). Researchers called this “deceptive labeling,” leading caregivers to believe the foods they’re choosing for their babies and toddlers are more nutritionally sound than they actually are.

Researchers examined products found on store shelves between March and May 2023 at eight of the top 10 U.S. grocery chains, including Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Ahold Delhaize, Publix, Sam’s Club, Target and Aldi. All products tested were found at single locations in Raleigh, North Carolina, though the study did not name the specific products or brands included in the study. The researchers noted that “these findings should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers,” since so many products clearly contribute to a “health halo,” that might not be entirely accurate.

“Time-poor parents are increasingly choosing convenience foods, unaware that many of these products lack key nutrients needed for their child’s development and tricked into believing they are healthier than they really are,” as Elizabeth Dunford, nutrition scientist at the University of North Carolina and the study’s lead authors, said in a statement.

“The reason we call it the Wild West when we talk about the baby food aisle is that manufacturers get to pick and choose which elements of their product they want to highlight,” she told CNN. “They certainly don’t highlight the bad stuff, right? If their product is high in sugar, they’re just going to say, ‘no added colors or flavors’ on the label.”

This lack of regulation “leaves the door wide open for the food industry to deceive busy parents,” explains Dr. Daisy Coyle, Research Fellow and Dietitian at The George Institute for Global Health, and an author of the study, in a statement.

“We saw this not only in the use of misleading claims but also in the use of misleading names, where the product name did not reflect the main ingredients found on the ingredient list,” she explained. “For example, snack and finger foods often referred to fruit or vegetables in the product name, despite primarily being made of flour or other starches,” contributing to the perceived “health halo” around these products.

This information is not made to shame parents or caregivers for choosing easy, convenient food options, instead to illuminate the many areas of improvement needed to support babies and toddlers’ healthy growth and nutrition. “Our findings highlight the urgent need for better regulation and guidance in the infant and toddler foods market in the United States—the health of future generations depends on it,” Dr. Dunford concluded.

What to look for in healthy baby food

Dr. Dunford shared these tips with Motherly for parents when shopping for healthy baby food:

1. Ignore the “noise”: That is, ignore all the promotional claims on the front of the pack (and even the back of the pack). Instead, take a look at the nutrition label and the ingredient list. If you don’t recognize any of the ingredients, it’s probably not a great choice. And use the nutrition label to see how much sugar is in squeeze pouch products in particular, remembering that 5g of sugar is equivalent to 1 whole teaspoon.
2. Beware of “snack packs”: We found zero products of this type met the nutritional criteria (think baby puffs—mainly air!)
3. Read labels: Know that one particular brand is not necessarily healthier than another. Most brands had some products that met the nutrition guidelines and some that didn’t. Looking on the back is the only way to tell.
4. Variety is key: Try to limit the number of times each day you use these convenient products to feed your kids. Especially fruit-based squeeze pouches. Make sure not to rely solely on these product types and give your baby the opportunity to use their hands and/or a spoon to feed (when they are old enough, of course).
5. Avoid certain ingredients: Beware of the words “fruit juice concentrate” in the ingredient list. Although this is not technically an added sugar in the USA, it is a free sugar and should be limited.