Baby food pouches have become ubiquitous with weaning, the colourful packages and promises of ‘no nasties’ luring in parents, like me, who need fast, healthy high chair dinners.
But a new investigation by BBC Panorama has found pouches from six of the UK’s leading brands are failing to meet key nutritional needs of babies and toddlers.
One single pouch by brand leader Ella’s Kitchen contained more sugar than a one-year-old should have in a day, while products by Heinz, Piccolo, Little Freddie, Aldi and Lidl also failed to meet nutritional recommendations.
The episode makes for sobering viewing as the mother of a one-year-old, who used pouches several times a week in the early days of weaning.
Like hundreds of thousands of households in the UK, the open-and-it’s-ready convenience appealed to us in the depths of sleep deprivation, when cooking and blending separate meals (that would inevitably end up on the floor) felt futile. I was also nervous about choking, and pouches seemed like a great way to introduce new flavours to my little one before he developed teeth.
Sure, I felt a little guilty, but as a fellow first-time mum said to me: ‘They make them for babies, they can’t be that bad…right?’
What’s really in baby food pouches?
The BBC commissioned a lab accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to test a fruit, yoghurt and savoury pouch from each of the big brands.
The testing of 18 pouches found many to be low in vitamin C and iron, while some contained concerning amounts of sugar close to those in adult fizzy drinks.
Savoury pouches are often used by parents as a main meal, but none of those tested came close to providing the 7.8mg of iron an infant requires in a day for a healthy immune system, growth and brain development
Of the four pouches tested that contained meat – known to be a good source of iron – Heinz’s Sweet Potato, Chicken and Veggies contained the lowest, with just over 0.3mg of iron. Piccolo’s Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese contained just 0.1mg.
Those at the top of the pack still failed to meet the requirements dramatically (Little Freddie Butternut Squash, Red Lentil and Coconut contained just 1mg of iron, while Ella’s Kitchen Spag Bol had 0.7mg and Aldi’s Banger’s and Mash had 0.5mg).
Sugar was a big concern across the board, with Ella’s Kitchen’s Bananas and Apples found to be the worst offender, with 19.6g of sugar – equivalent to more than four teaspoons.
The NHS says an infant should have as little sugar as possible, and that a one-year-old child should have no more than 10g of free sugars a day. Free sugars occur when fruit is pureed, as is the case with the pouches. Unlike eating fresh fruit – which is much better for a child – pureeing releases sugar from inside fruit cell walls and can be absorbed much more quickly.
The researchers also found that almost all beneficial vitamin C (important for the immune system) had been lost during the manufacturing process of fruit pouches.
The Pure Mango pouch from Piccolo had, in effect, no vitamin C left – less than 0.1mg. This is despite the same amount of fresh mango (70g) containing 18.2mg of vitamin C.
Is it any wonder parents are using these pouches?
Let’s be real, most parents would love to make their little ones homecooked food every day, but weaning is an intimidating prospect when your child reaches six months old, with very little official guidance available beyond a few NHS recipes.
Historically, health visitors would have been on hand to walk first-time parents through the minefield of homemade purees, baby-led weaning and everything in between. But data from the Care Quality Commission shows the number of full-time health visitors in England has decreased by approximately 45% since 2015, the equivalent of 4,500 employees.
The result is fewer, rushed appointments where – in my experience – you queue up to weigh your baby at the local community centre once a month and have a quick five-minute conversation about any concerns (if you’re lucky).
Where to access help on weaning
It can be hard to know which books are worth buying (and spending the time reading) when you’re feeling up against it. I’ve personally found Joe Wick’s Wean in 15 helpful and know it’s also a hit with several NCT friends.
Another pal also recommended following Solid Starts when I was nervous about choking. The account and app details how to portion different foods safely for the age and ability of your child.
For quick recipes and no-nonsense weaning advice, follow child nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed.
Social media can be so valuable – just ensure the accounts you follow are created by reputable, qualified practitioners!
For specific concerns, book a GP appointment if you’re struggling to access support via your health visitor.
At the same time, parents are working far more than they were in previous generations. In 2000, 66.2% of mothers with dependent children were employed, according to ONS Data. By 2021, this figure had risen to 75.6%, the highest level in 20 years.
It’s no wonder then, that baby food has morphed into a multimillion pound industry, carefully marketed to time-poor parents who want to do their best, but don’t know where to start.
Panorama found many of the biggest brands use ‘halo-marketing’, surrounding products with healthy words or phrases, which could potentially ‘mislead’ parents.
Ella’s Kitchen, for example, describes savoury products as ‘perfectly balanced for growing babies’, while Piccolo claims many pouches are ‘packed with goodness’.
Some Little Freddie pouches come branded as ‘Good for Brains’ and Heinz claims some of its fruit products are ‘as nutritionally good as homemade’.
Health experts have now called for updated mandatory legislation around baby food labelling and nutritional content, with several of the brands saying they would welcome government guidance.
What do the brands say?
When the BBC put their research to the brands, all said their products were intended as a complementary part of a child’s varied weaning diet. The brands also told the BBC they were committed to infant health, and they provided quality nutritional products that meet UK regulations.
On the subject of sugar, Piccolo said it develops ‘recipes that combine fruits with vegetables’ to reduce sugar levels, while Ella’s Kitchen said that, ‘the sugar content would be the same if you pureed the ingredients yourself at home’ and that it has ‘a dedicated sugar reduction pathway for 2025’. Heinz, Aldi, Little Freddie and Lidl all said their products contained ‘no added sugars’.
When it comes to marketing, Piccolo and Little Freddie told the BBC their packaging accurately represented the key ingredients and flavours contained in their products, while Ella’s Kitchen said it ‘would never use’ misleading claims. Heinz did not address the BBC’s questions on marketing.
Regarding iron (or lack of it), Little Freddie added that its products were not intended to be meal replacements for one-year-olds and Ella’s Kitchen said that its pouches should be used sparingly.
BBC Panorama: The Truth about Baby Food Pouches is available on iPlayer now and airs Monday 28 April at 8pm.
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