A new report has found that parents are being duped by food manufacturers into buying unhealthy foods for their kids.
The report, released exclusively to 7.30, says that manufacturers of toddler foods use various marketing strategies to make busy parents think they’re buying something healthy for their child to consume.
The toddler food companies can do this because there are no regulations covering what’s in these foods or the marketing practices.
The report Beyond the Label: Seeing Past Marketing on Baby and Toddler Foods in Australia, is the work of the Food For Health Alliance, a partnership of leading public health and nutrition organisations.
Store-bought foods are a common part of the diet for Australian toddlers. (ABC News)
In the past the Alliance has shown that over 70 per cent of toddler foods on supermarket shelves do not meet international best nutrition standards.
This current research shows that sometimes what is considered to be confectionery is being marketed to parents as nutritious food.
Dr Anthea Rhodes, a paediatrician at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne with an interest in child nutrition and development, was alarmed by what parents were telling her about their reliance on store-bought foods for their young kids.
Dr Anthea Rhodes was surprised to learn how reliant many parents are on store-bought food for toddlers. (Supplied)
“We were curious to learn just how common this was in Australian households, and also what parents really know and understand about these foods,” Dr Rhodes told 7.30.
Dr Rhodes and her colleagues did a survey of parents, which confirmed what she was hearing in the clinic.
“The top thing we learned was that consuming ready-made, store-bought foods in an average family, for toddlers, is very common,” she said.
“So almost half of children aged under three consume these foods for at least half of their diet.“
The risk though is that parents can be blamed for this.
Megan Stock says buying an occasional supermarket snack for her toddler is “the reality of being a busy parent”. (Supplied)
Megan Stock is the mother of a two-year-old boy.
“You do your best to do as much as you can by yourself, but you just simply don’t have time, and if you’re on the go, you know, I just feel like sometimes you do have to just buy a little snack from the supermarket,” Ms Stock told 7.30.
“It’s the reality of being a busy parent.”
Misleading marketing
Some toddler foods are marketed as healthier than they really are. (ABC News)
What Dr Rhodes found next troubled her.
“Parents are being misled,” she said.
“The majority of them believe these foods are healthy. They believe they are regulated by the government to ensure that they have an adequate amount of nutritional value that make them good for their kids, when, in fact, these regulations simply don’t exist.”
This reliance on store-bought toddler foods by parents is one of the reasons the Food For Health Alliance studied the industry’s marketing techniques.
Beyond the Label highlights four examples of marketing which mislead parents into believing they’re doing the best by their child.
“One technique is to say on the packet what’s not in the product,” said Jane Martin, who leads the Alliance.
“For example, ‘No GM. No preservatives. No artificial colours’. But that distracts from what’s actually in the product such as excessive sugars and no real fruit.
“Another strategy is saying again and again that a product is natural and organic, which again can distract from, say, a 50 per cent level of sugar and very limited fruit content.
“Fifty per cent sugar is what you get in a gummy bear.
“A third strategy is naming a product to look as though it’s healthy.
“One example is Strawberry Yoghurt Rice Cakes, which has images of strawberries on the pack. The only strawberry is 2 per cent and that’s strawberry powder, and the yoghurt is dried and high in sugar.
Kiddylicious Strawberry Fruit Wiggles were found to be nearly 70 per cent sugar. (ABC News)
“And there’s the imagery on the pack such as real fruit. One such product is called Kiddylicious, and has as much sugar as marshmallows — nearly 70 per cent.”
When shown these examples, Ms Stock, who is a health professional herself, was rattled.
“It’s just scary and every time you figure out that there’s something you can’t necessarily trust on the front of a packet, it rattles you,”
she said.
“You just think you can’t trust the whole aisle.”
7.30 contacted the companies responsible for the products mentioned in this story for comment.
At the time of publication, one company Only Organic got back to 7.30 saying: “We support conversations about transparency in food marketing and believe that clearer guidelines for infant toddler food standards in Australia and New Zealand would benefit both consumers and brands.”
In response to questions about the claims made by the Food for Health Alliance, the Australian Food and Grocery Council, the industry body which represents toddler food manufacturers told 7.30 in a statement: “Australia’s food and drink manufacturers are committed to providing safe, nutritious foods, including for young children.
“The industry follows strict regulations under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code and Australian Consumer Law, promoting clear labelling, accurate ingredient lists, and permitted content and health claims. These requirements allow manufacturers to provide parents with clear information, empowering them to make informed decisions for their families.”
‘We have let parents down’
Jane Martin wants toddler foods to be regulated. (Supplied)
Ms Martin and the Food For Health Alliance are arguing for mandatory regulation of both the content of toddler foods, particularly in terms of sugars and salt, and the marketing strategies which mislead parents.
The regulator is Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) but for it to take on these issues it will need to receive a wide and comprehensive brief from the Australian and New Zealand food ministers.
The ministers are considering a still confidential report from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care before making their decision.
The federal politician with responsibility for food is Ged Kearney, who is Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care.
Strawberry Yoghurt Rice Cakes are only 2 per cent strawberry powder. (ABC News)
7.30 asked Ms Kearney if the government is willing to take on the large and powerful food industry lobby.
“I think food ministers have shown a willingness to regulate around these issues. Just recently, we indicated our intent, for example, to regulate marketing around infant formula and baby formula foods,” she replied.
Dr Rhodes says putting the onus on parents to attempt to figure out what is in these products is not fair.
“It’s not reasonable to expect parents to have the equivalent of a dietitian degree to turn over a product and try and decipher what’s actually in it,” Dr Rhodes said.
“Here in Australia, we have let parents down with our lack of regulation.“
“We need to ensure that products are healthy in their content, and that there are laws making it very clear that marketing has to be true and accurate so that parents can trust the products they’re buying.”
Megan Stock was shocked to learn how much sugar was in some toddler foods. (Supplied)
But will mandatory regulation mean there’s nothing left on the shelves for busy parents?
Ms Martin says no.
“We know if there’s regulation it’s going to change the foods that are available for children, the nutrition of those foods, the way they’re marketed to families, and it will really ensure that there are more healthy products on the market that are appropriate for babies and toddlers,” Ms Martin said.
“The first 1,000 days of a child’s life is critical in terms of their nutrition,” Dr Rhodes said.
“They’re growing so rapidly their bodies and brains that whatever goes in their mouth contributes to their health and wellbeing.
“And it’s deeply concerning to learn just how many Australian toddlers are consuming unhealthy foods and that will put them at risk of health problems, some in the immediate term, and then some in the many, many years to come.“
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