Convenient and healthy baby food alternatives are on the horizon

Baby food pouches have come under scrutiny this year, following a report from the University of Leeds and consumer group Which?.

- This article, written by Seamus Higgins, Associate Professor Food Process Engineering, Chemical & Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, originally appeared in The Conversation.

The findings were troubling. Many pouches are high in sugar, nutritionally inadequate, and potentially harmful if consumed regularly. The report also warns that parents are being misled by so-called “halo” marketing claims – labels like “nutritionally balanced,” “no added sugar” and “organic” – which often obscure poor nutritional profiles.

In my forthcoming book, Food and us: the incredible story of how food shapes humanity, I explore how food technology has evolved alongside human history.

It was around 2006, when Ella's kitchen and Plum Organics introduced pouch technology to the baby food market, sparking a global trend. Today, baby food pouches make up over a third (38%) of baby food market.

POUCH PROBLEMS

The trouble lies in how these foods are made. To achieve long shelf life manufacturers subject the pouches to high heat and pressure. To mask any off-tastes caused by this intense processing, they often use fruit concentrates: ingredients high in sugar that appeal to babies and make the product more palatable.