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Hutchinson J, Rippin H, Threapleton D, Jewell J, Kanamäe H, Salupuu K, Caroli M, Antignani A, Pace L, Vassallo C, Lande B, Hildonen C, Rito AI, Santos M, Gabrijelcic Blenkus M, Sarkadi-Nagy E, Erdei G, Cade JE, Breda J. High sugar content of European commercial baby foods and proposed updates to existing recommendations. Matern Child Nutr 2020; 17:e13020. [PMID: 32862552 PMCID: PMC7729710 DOI: 10.1111/mcn.13020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Revised: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The aim was to determine whether commercial baby foods marketed within Europe (up to 36 months of age) have inappropriate formulation and high sugar content and to provide suggestions to update European regulations and recommendations as part of a nutrient profile model developed for this age group. The latter was produced following recommended World Health Organization (WHO) steps, including undertaking a rapid literature review. Packaging information from countries across the WHO European region was used to determine mean energy from total sugar by food category. The percentage of products containing added sugar and the percentage of savoury meal‐type products containing pureed fruit were also calculated. A total of 2,634 baby foods from 10 countries were summarised: 768 sold in the United Kingdom, over 200 each from Denmark (319), Spain (241), Italy (430) and Malta (243) and between 99–200 from Hungary, Norway, Portugal, Estonia and Slovenia. On average, approximately a third of energy in baby foods in these European countries came from total sugar, and for most food categories, energy from sugar was higher than 10%. Use of added sugars was widespread across product categories, with concentrated fruit juice most commonly used. Savoury meal‐type purees did not contain added sugars except in United Kingdom and Malta; however, fruit as an ingredient was found in 7% of savoury meals, most frequently seen in UK products. Clear proposals for reducing the high sugar content seen in commercial baby foods were produced. These suggestions, relating to both content and labelling, should be used to update regulations and promote product reformulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayne Hutchinson
- Nutritional Epidemiology Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Holly Rippin
- Nutritional Epidemiology Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Diane Threapleton
- Nutritional Epidemiology Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Jo Jewell
- Division of Noncommunicable Diseases and Promoting Health through the Life-Course, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Haidi Kanamäe
- Nutrition and Exercise Unit, Centre for Health Risks Prevention, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia
| | - Kristin Salupuu
- Department of Nutrition Research, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia
| | | | - Angelo Antignani
- Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Lucienne Pace
- Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Directorate, Msida, Malta
| | | | - Britt Lande
- Division Prevention and Public Health, Norwegian Directorate of Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Christina Hildonen
- Division Prevention and Public Health, Norwegian Directorate of Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ana Isabel Rito
- Department of Food and Nutrition, National Health Institute Dr.Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Mariana Santos
- Department of Food and Nutrition, National Health Institute Dr.Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal.,NOVA National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | | | - Gergő Erdei
- National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Janet E Cade
- Nutritional Epidemiology Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Joao Breda
- Division of Noncommunicable Diseases and Promoting Health through the Life-Course, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark
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