Early years food remains a ‘policy black hole’ in newly published Government Food Strategy
The National Food Strategy (NFS) team proposed bold, evidence-based recommendations that would have an enormous impact on improving our food system, making healthier food more available and accessible to all. The Government’s response to the NFS, which has been eagerly anticipated since January 2022, was finally published yesterday [13 June 2022].
Unfortunately, there remains no clear guidance from Government around food for infants and young children (the ‘early years’). The Government has been expected to publish long-awaited guidelines for early years products, but it has still not materialised.
Dietary habits in children's early years influence eating patterns in later life. Liking salty and sugary foods is a learned taste preference and the recommendation that the adult population reduce their salt and sugar intake will be more successful if children do not develop a preference for salt and sugar in the first place. This can only be achieved if children are given a diet which is low in salt and sugar. Currently, children consume excess amounts of calories, fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar and do not eat enough fibre, fruit and vegetables*. Children as young as 1.5-3 years eat:
- 27.9g/day free sugars compared to recommended 0g
- 17.5g/day saturated fat
Last year we worked with Impact on Urban Health to investigate the nutritional profile of biscuits marketed to the early years available at supermarkets across the UK. Using the criteria of the traffic light labels displayed on products intended for older children and adults, a third (36%) of early years biscuits would have to display a red label for sugar. However, the majority (88%) do not list ‘sugar’ in the ingredients, choosing instead to list other sweetening ingredients such as fruit concentrates. More than half of the biscuits would also be defined as less healthy by the Nutrient Profiling Model. Full survey results.
Graham MacGregor, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, and Chairman of Action on Salt and Action on Sugar, said:
“Early years health is too important to allow unhealthy products to be sold and marketed to infants and young children, and companies that do so are immoral. However, the Government’s Food Strategy fails to include any measures for improving the nutritional quality of early years food, which continues to be a policy black hole. Strict, mandatory guidelines – based on WHO Europe’s guidelines – for all products intended for early years are urgently needed.”
Reference
*Public Health England. NDNS: results from years 9 to 11 (2016 to 2017 and 2018 to 2019). 2020. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ndns-results-from-years-9-to-11-2016-to-2017-and-2018-to-2019
