Doctors are demanding the government bans ultra-high-sugar baby food, with one containing more of it than Coca-Cola.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health says it is a “national disgrace” that the pouches aimed at kids under 12 months contain up to three-and-a-half teaspoons of sugar.
They are completely unregulated after being exempt from 2016 moves challenging the food industry to slash sugar content of certain foods by 20%.
And Dr Camilla Kingdon, RCPCH President, said: “It’s a national disgrace that there is currently zero guidance on the salt and sugar levels in products aimed at infants, who are in a critical stage of their development.
“In my own practice I see parents of very small and vulnerable babies buy baby food pouches and pots with the assumption that they are giving their children the best start they can.”
The British Dental Association has found some products have up to two-thirds of an adult’s recommended daily allowance of sugar.
BDA chair Eddie Crouch said: “Tooth decay is the number one reason for hospital admissions among young children.
“Yet Ministers are letting parents be duped into buying foods that can hook their kids to sugar from infancy.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “As our review in 2019 found inconsistencies between national recommendations and the ingredients of these products, we have challenged businesses to improve [their] nutritional content.”
Source: mirror.co.uk
