WELL-KNOWN brands of baby food on sale in the Republic contain alarmingly high levels of sugar and saturated fats, according to a new survey.
All four leading brands of baby rusk tested by Consumer Choice magazine contained excessive levels of sugar and two were high in saturated fat.
One of the products tested for the survey, Heinz Farleys Rusks, contained almost three times the maximum acceptable level of sugar, it was found.
The Consumers’ Association of Ireland, which publishes Consumer Choice, said it was time for baby food companies to take action to improve the nutritional quality of their products. It wants companies to commit to removing all trans-fats from their products, reduce the amount of saturated fat, salt and sugar, and ensure labelling enables parents to see at a glance whether the baby food they are buying is healthy.
The lowest level of sugar in a rusk product was 18.8g per 100g in Cow & Gate’s Animal Biscuits, while Farleys Rusks contained 29g of sugar. “This is an alarmingly high level for any product, particularly one aimed at four to six month old babies,” according to the magazine, which says that any product with more than 10 per cent sugar contains too much.
A spokesman for Heinz UK and Ireland said the level of added sugars in its recipes was kept to a minimum “consistent with the need to provide a biscuit-like texture which also dissolves easily to avoid choking”. “They also contain very little fat – less than 2g per rusk – and, in keeping with the special nutritional needs of infants, contain no added salt,” he said.
The company also sells a range of reduced sugar rusks providing 30 per cent less sugar than Farleys Original Rusks, including a wholemeal variety.
Cow & Gate said over 90 per cent of its baby food range contained only naturally occurring sugars and no added sugar. Biscuits required sugar and fat in the recipe, a spokeswoman said. She said Cow & Gate Animal Friend biscuits contained less than most comparable adult varieties and other baby biscuits.
High sugar content is linked to tooth decay and may also lead to the development of a preference for sugary foods with the attendant risk of health problems such as obesity and diabetes.
Liga Original was found to contain 25g per 100g of sugar, while Organix Orange Soft Rusks contained 22g per 100g.
All four products contained medium fat levels, although Liga and Farleys Rusks contained about half the fat level of the Cow & Gate and Organix products. The latter two contained over 6 per cent saturated fat, which is considered high.
A spokeswoman for Jacob Fruitfield, maker of Liga, said: “We are satisfied that Liga’s product formulation is fully in accordance with EU legislation and nutritional guidelines for infant foods. We would like to point out that Liga is generally consumed on a per rusk basis and there are 3.7g of sugar per 14.6g rusk.”
Consumer Choice also noted that sugar is listed as an ingredient under a number of different “guises” including glucose, fructose, syrup, sucrose, invert sugar and candy syrup. “It is clear from reading the labels that if parents were to frequently add rusks to their toddler’s diet that they would be taking in higher than recommended levels of fats and sugars for energy.”
