Marketing on baby & toddler foods

 

Packaged foods for babies and toddlers should be accurately labelled and responsibly promoted. But currently, this is not the case in Australia.

  • No baby and toddler foods comply with international recommendations for marketing on pack
  • 1 in 3 has a name that doesn’t accurately reflect its ingredients
  • Products can carry up to 20 claims on a single pack.

This marketing can trick parents into believing these products are wholesome for little ones, when often they are not  - this is called the 'health halo' effect. This marketing is powerful, with 90% of parents reporting using claims like ‘natural’ or ‘made with real fruit’ to guide their choice.

woman with two small bottles in supermarket

Marketing claims are all over baby and toddler foods

When shopping for baby and toddler foods at the supermarket, chances are you’ll see claims like this all over the packets:

Nutrition claims, like:

  • ‘No added sugar’
  • ‘Free from preservatives, flavours’, and colours’
  • ‘100% natural’

Health claims, like:

  • ‘Perfectly balanced to support growth’
  • ‘Extra goodness with wholegrain oats’
  • ‘Supports healthy growth/ and development’

Marketing claims, like:

  • ‘Suitable for picky eaters’
  • ‘Ideal for breakfast or meals on the go’

Plus, product names often aren’t accurate!

In Australia product names do not always a reflection of what’s in the food parents are buying for their babies and toddlers

Over two in three parents say the name of a product guides what they buy. Some common examples:

  • Product names that highlight vegetable, legume and or grain content - even when it's  predominantly fruit!
  • Product names that feature vegetables or fruits but only contain flavouring or powder, and no real vegetable or fruit ingredients.

This naming can mislead or confuse parents and caregivers about the health and nutritional benefits of the product.

What can we do about this?

The World Health Organization recommends baby and toddler foods are named accurately and do not have any claims on packaging for these foods. We agree!...

That means:

  • No marketing, health or nutrition claims on food packaging
  • Product names that accurately reflect ingredients 

Sign up now

girl eating passionfruit

FAQs 

But aren't these claims true?

Many claims on processed food packaging are misleading. Even if some of the individual claims are true, taken together, they may imply that the product is better than it is in terms of health. These claims also make these foods appear better than homemade or whole foods and give an overall impression that it is beneficial for the health of a child

Are there rules about claims on foods?

The Food Standards Code has lots of rules about claims on packaged foods. But most of these are for all foods and don’t consider the special needs and vulnerabilities of babies and toddlers. The World Health Organization has said that because of the critical importance of early health and development in babies and toddlers there need to be different rules.

  • Nine in ten parents agree there should laws about the images and claims allowed on baby and toddler foods.

Learn more

What's in baby & toddler foods

A choice survey found that over half of all toddler snack foods contained sugars that are harmful to health, including fruit juice concentrate, fruit paste, fruit powder, sugar and syrups.

Added Sugar Labelling

Australian's have a right to know how much sugar is added to packaged foods. Learn more about our support for mandatory added sugar labelling.