Can Parents Ever Catch a Break? Apparently Two-Thirds of ‘Healthy’ Kid Snack Food Labels Are Misleading

Feeding kids is a hard job, whether you make home-cooked meals, rely on convenience foods, or both. That’s why it’s quite alarming to hear that many of the foods you may be purchasing aren’t as healthy as they claim to be. According to a new study¹ published Wednesday in Nutrients, 60 percent of foods marketed for babies and toddlers failed to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe’s nutritional guidelines and marketing requirements.

Researchers at The George Institute for Global Health reviewed 651 infant and toddler food products and found that these products used misleading marketing labels. Almost all (99.4 percent) of the products featured at least one prohibited claim on their packaging. Those claims, such as non-genetically modified (non-GMO), organic, no BPA, and no artificial colors/flavors, are among the top terms many caregivers look for when deciding which infant and toddler food products to buy.

These marketing claims not only help boost a product’s appeal but also increase the perceived “healthiness” of a product. This information is problematic for a few reasons, but the biggest one is the lack of effective regulations around labels on kids’ food products (and food in general). When we can’t totally trust the labels on our food, the onus is placed on parents to wade through the claims and figure out what’s really healthy and what’s not.

Sifting through misleading claims should not be on parents. In a landscape where families are already dealing with rising food prices and food insecurity, alarming study headlines like this make parents and caregivers feel as if they’re failing to feed their children the “right way,” while also failing to give them the proper resources to do so or taking into account the many cultural and socioeconomic barriers around nutrient-rich foods.

Additionally, the study revealed that the names of the food products didn’t actually reflect the main ingredients in it. For example, a “vegetable pouch” that claims to be packed with kale and beets might only have small amounts of these foods compared to, say, the amount of applesauce. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does require products to list their ingredients in descending order, but it could do a better job of enforcing health and nutrient content claims on product labels.

One of the study authors, Daisy Coyle, a dietitian and research fellow at The George Institute, said in a press release about the study, “The lack of regulation in this area leaves the door wide open for the food industry to deceive busy parents.”

Parents—and kids—deserve better.

While it sounds scary to call food “laboratory-made” because of flavor enhancers, colors, and food additives, we have to remember nuance when discussing nutrition. —Shana Minei Spence, RDN

Promoting fear of processed foods

Another major issue with this study is that it instills fear in parents and caregivers about serving packaged foods to their kids and reinforces the false belief that processed foods are inferior to their whole counterparts. In my opinion, foods that are classified as processed and, most importantly, ultra-processed foods (UPF) are one of the most fear-mongered topics.

Because we’re told to eat food closest to its natural state, we often frown upon processed and ultra-processed foods. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that the vast majority of what we eat is processed in some way. Even foods that have been frozen, placed in containers, dried, cooked, vacuum-packed, washed, or had unwanted or inedible parts removed could be considered minimally processed.

According to the NOVA food classification system, ultra-processed foods are “formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, typically created by a series of industrial techniques and processes.” For example, fractioning (which separates the food into discrete parts, like sugars, oils and fats, fiber, and protein) and chemical modifications like hydrogenation, as well as the addition of additives. These terms are just a very fancy way of saying that these foods are modified with the help of adding various oils, fats, sugar, starch, and proteins. While it sounds scary to call food “laboratory-made” because of flavor enhancers, colors, and food additives, we have to remember nuance when discussing nutrition.

Many people think that preservatives or ingredients you can’t pronounce are inherently scary or that anything added into food is harmful. However, many of our foods are processed to add nutrition—not reduce it. For example, milk is often fortified with vitamin D, and breakfast cereals can have added B vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin D, zinc, iron, and more. In other words, processed or even ultra-processed doesn’t have to cause mass panic. And the extent to which food is packaged or processed doesn’t necessarily negate the nutrients that it has to offer or the amount of joy it can bring. After all, food is more than its nutritional makeup.

Putting “low-protein, high-sodium” concerns in context

The Nutrients study also revealed that convenience-style infant and toddler foods, mainly snack and finger foods and pouches, contained low levels of protein and high levels of energy, sodium, and sugar, with many containing added free sugars and sweeteners. Seventy percent of the products failed to meet protein requirements and 44 percent exceeded sugar requirements. The researchers believe that parents who are time-restricted are “tricked” into choosing these convenience foods, and are unaware that many of these products lack key nutrients needed for their child’s development.

However, when looking at the specific products, many were snack foods, such as fruit pouches, cereal bars, and puffed snacks. We have to remember to look at a day of eating as a whole instead of individual snack foods. High-sugar content can be found in many foods, but you should also look at the other foods and meals being served throughout the day to get a better picture of the nutrition a child is getting.

Socioeconomic factors need to be part of the conversation

Moreover, there are socioeconomic factors, such as access to various food choices and affordability, that were not mentioned in the study.

A 2022 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that food insecurity in the U.S. rose sharply and that 44.2 million people lived in households that had difficulty getting enough food to feed everyone, which is an increase from 33.8 million people the year prior. Within these families, more than 13 million are children—a nearly 45 percent increase from 2021.

The bottom line is that the baby and toddler foods you buy at the grocery are perfectly fine to serve to your kids, whether it’s a snack or a side dish to a meal. If you’re looking to provide more specific nutritious foods in their diet, read food ingredient labels carefully to ensure you’re actually buying what you want. That’s why it’s important to serve a variety of foods to your kids. Because ultimately, eating a wide variety of foods means you’re getting a variety of nutrients.

As a registered dietitian, I know there will always be good reasons to include different types of food in your diet and this includes processed ones. Many packaged foods tend to be more cost-effective and convenient than their “whole” counterparts.

At the end of the day, we’re all trying to feed our families the best we can. Not everyone feels like or has access to make baby or toddler food from scratch. Many families want an option that saves time and that their child will eat—and that’s okay.