Supermarket promotions of baby and toddler foods are misaligned to national dietary guidelines

A Monash University-led study into commercially available foods for infants and young children has found them to be promoted as low-cost and “healthy,” despite often not conforming to nutritional guidelines.

The study, led by Dr. Alexandra Chung, Accredited Practicing Dietitian and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, published in the journal Health Promotion International, examined the nature and extent of promotions for commercial infant and toddler foods in Australian supermarket catalogs.

Sixty digital catalogs (more than 2,200 pages) from four leading Australian supermarket chains were collected and content analyzed over 12 weeks from August to October 2023. All advertised commercial infant and toddler foods were identified and the researchers recorded the labeled age range, product category, packaging type, and associated promotions for each product.

A total of 121 commercial infant and toddler food products were identified across 49 catalog pages.

The study found that:

• The most advertised categories of commercial infant and toddler foods were fruit purees (40%), snacks (27%), and confectionary (12%);
• Almost three-quarters of advertised commercial foods were labeled for infants under 12 months;
• More than one-quarter of advertised commercial products were labeled for toddlers 12–36 months of age
• 50% of products were packaged in pouches.
• Techniques used to promote commercial infant and toddler foods included price (95%) and health-related messaging (20%).

Previous studies have shown that 80% of Australian children aged 2–3 years do not meet the recommended intake of fruit and vegetables each day and, among young children in Australia, more than 60% regularly consume unhealthy snack foods and sweet drinks with these discretionary foods accounting for 30% of total energy intake among 2- to 3-year-olds.

According to Dr. Chung, foods promoted for infants and young children in Australian supermarket catalogs are misaligned with the recommendations within Australia’s Infant Feeding Guidelines.

“Australian supermarket catalogs in Australia promote packaged commercial foods for infants and toddlers using price promotions and health-related messaging. Many of the foods promoted do not align with Australia’s Infant Feeding Guidelines, which recommend that from around 6 months, babies are introduced to nutritious, iron-rich foods and progress to eating family foods from the five food groups by 12 months of age,” she said.

Key concerns around commercial foods for infants and toddlers include the nutritional quality of these products, soft and dissolvable textures that do not support optimal development of eating behaviors, and misleading labeling and marketing.

This recent study demonstrates that price promotions are also being used to promote these products to parents and caregivers.

“There is an urgent need to reduce the promotion of packaged commercial infant and toddler foods in supermarket catalogs to better support and promote healthy diets and eating behaviors among young children,” says Dr. Chung.