Hidden sugars in our babies food is wrecking their health

Last night, BBC Panorama exposed a reality many parents will find difficult to stomach: the baby food pouches and snacks lining our supermarket shelves are failing our youngest children.

- DAYNA BRACKLEY

The Truth About Baby Food Pouches revealed some of these products are dangerously high in sugar and low in vital nutrients – in some cases exceeding the daily sugar recommendation for an infant in just one pouch.

I used these pouches, too. Ten years ago, as a tired, time-pressed mum, I trusted these products. The packaging was friendly; the labels promised “organic” and “no nasties”. It sounded like a healthy shortcut.

Now, after years working in food policy, I can see how misplaced that trust was. These weren’t simply convenient options – they were sugar-laden products shaping my children’s diets at a crucial stage, sold as if they were the healthy choice.

Part of the evidence behind the BBC Panorama investigation comes from a major new study by researchers at the University of Leeds, which analysed over 600 baby and toddler foods sold across the UK’s biggest supermarkets.

A quarter of all products were so high in sugar that they would trigger a front-of-pack warning label under World Health Organisation guidelines. More than 40 per cent of main meals had high sugar levels, and over half of snacks contained added sugars. In fruit pouches – now a common part of many young children’s diets – 71 per cent of the calories came from sugar.