Commercial infant and baby food and drink: Public Health England evidence review
Published:
The report sets out PHE’s advice to government on the opportunities for action to improve foods and drinks aimed at infants and young children.
The review considered a range of evidence, including:
- UK and international recommendations and advice for feeding infants and young children aged 6 to 36 months
- dietary requirements, recommendations and intakes for sugar, salt and energy
- use, role in the diet, and impact of consumption on health outcomes, of commercial baby foods and drinks
- consumer views on commercial baby foods and drinks
- characteristics of the UK baby food and drink market, including types of products, recommended age of use, packaging and labelling, and nutrient composition
- stakeholder views on the scope for action to improve commercial baby foods and drinks
Dr Kawther Hashem, Nutritionist and Campaign Lead at Action on Sugar said:
“The current state of the UK’s baby food market is shocking, with sugar-laden products such as biscuits and wafers making up two-thirds of the baby finger food category".
“Consequently, this encourages snacking from an early age and high exposure to sugary foods which can lead to obesity, Type 2 diabetes and tooth decay. It is imperative that the government tackles this issue head on and enforces the key recommendations in the report.”
