Many baby foods are ultra-processed products

Many foods being sold for babies are ultra-processed, reducing their nutritional value, but are still marketed as ‘healthy’. — AFP

Nearly a third of baby foods sold in British supermarkets are ultra-processed products, according to research from the First Steps Nutrition Trust as reported in The Guardian.

This proportion rises to half for snacks and cereals, and to three-quarters for cookies and rusks.

These items are all the more problematic for families, as they are often marketed as healthy or natural products.

What’s more, 61% of the calories consumed by children in the United Kingdom come from ultra-processed foods, reports The Guardian.

This proportion is even higher than in the United States or Australia.

Yet, the UK is one of Europe’s most restrictive countries when it comes to food and drink policies.

A report published at the beginning of the year (2023) by the French National Assembly and Senate stated that between 30% and 35% of calories ingested in France come from ultra-processed foods.

This type of food typically contains substances such as colourants, emulsifiers and modified starches, which enable a foodstuff to be preserved for longer or imparts desirable sensory qualities.

Ultra-processed foods are considered problematic as they contribute to excess weight and poor nutrition, which were thought to cause some 7.94 million deaths worldwide in 2019.

As far as babies are concerned, The Guardian reports that this category of ultra-processed foods includes soft drinks, sweets, cookies, snacks, fast food and “mass-produced bread and breakfast cereals”.

The main problem is the excessive presence of salt, sugars and saturated fats, while there are fewer proteins, vitamins and minerals in the composition of these foods.

Their nutritional profile is not the only problem.

The manufacturing processes themselves are problematic, because they modify “the physical structure of the food matrix and through this have an impact on the degree of chewing, inducing effects on the speed of ingestion and on the feeling of satiety”, stresses the document from France’s parliament.

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to avoid these foods when shopping as they are so numerous on supermarket shelves.

According to one French consumer magazine, a low price, labels like “low in sugar”, obscure (scientific-sounding) names on the ingredients list, or the presence of more than five ingredients in the food, can all be signs that a food is ultra-processed. – AFP Relaxnews