WHO: Foods for young children under 3 years old must not contain sugar

WHO: Foods for young children under 3 years old must not contain sugar. In July 2019, the World Health Organization issued a very serious investigation report. According to its report from November 2017 to January 2018, from four cities in four European countries (Vienna in Austria, Sofia in Bulgaria, and Sofia in Hungary). (Budapest, Haifa, Israel) The test results of 7955 foods and beverages for infants and young children randomly inspected, warning of food and beverages for infants and young children aged 0-36 months:

Many foods for infants and young children contain a large amount of added sugars. Whether these sugars are added in the form of free sugar or fruit puree, they will have an adverse effect on the health of infants and young children, increase the risk of dental caries and obesity, and increase chronicity due to weight problems. The occurrence of non-communicable diseases will continue to affect lifelong health. Although some products use sweeteners to improve the taste, they will still encourage children to develop a habit of eating sweets.

Among the sampling samples in 3 cities:

More than 50% of infant food: the calories provided by added sugar exceed 30% of the total calories;
About 1/3 of the products: contain added sugar, concentrated fruit juice or other sweeteners.

• These additional flavoring agents and sugars can interfere with children’s taste preferences and encourage them to prefer or rely on sweet foods.
• Although fruits are part of a healthy diet for children, the fruits themselves contain a lot of sugar. Therefore, once commercial infant food contains a lot of fruit puree/fruit puree, it should arouse attention and vigilance.

Accordingly, the WHO recommends that food manufacturers are prohibited from adding free sugars to food and beverages for infants and young children under 3 years old. At the same time, proposed regulations are made for infant food and its nutritional ingredients in Europe:

• Sweet food: It is prohibited to label as “suitable for infants and young children under 36 months of age”.
• Fruity drinks, juices, sweet milk and products: It is prohibited to be marked as “suitable for infants and young children under 36 months of age”.
• Flavored snacks and finger foods that add sugar to provide energy exceeding 15% of the total energy: It is prohibited to be marked as “suitable for infants and young children under 36 months of age”.
• Added sugar and other sweeteners (including all syrups, honey, fruit juices, fruit juice concentrates, or sugar-free sweeteners such as saccharin, sucralose, stevia, etc.): Prohibited for use on the market under 36 months of age Complementary food for infants and young children.
• Juices and juice concentrates: Can not be used as a supplementary food for infants and young children on the market (except for lemon or lemon juice to allow a small amount of preservation)
• When used as raw materials for meals, processed or concentrated 100% fruit products (pure fruit puree/paste or dried fruit), the amount must be limited to 5% of the total weight of the food (≤ total weight).
• The nutrient composition table on the outer packaging of the food or beverage should indicate the amount of added sugar and the energy supply ratio.
• The energy density of commercially available baby food (6-12 months old): not less than 60kcal/100g.

In this proposed regulation, corresponding suggestions are also made on the content of protein, fat, added salt, etc. Since we are talking about sugar today, we will put aside the content that has nothing to do with sugar.

Regrettably, most of the baby complementary foods and baby foods currently on the market do not indicate the specific usage of added sugar, fruit juice, fruit puree, and other sweeteners as scheduled, nor do they strictly indicate that the calories provided by these ingredients account for the total amount. The percentage of calories.

In the ingredient list of many products, the ranking of glucose, sucrose, white sugar, or fruit ingredients is in the second or third place, which means that the content will not be “very low.” Such as all kinds of baby biscuits, Rongdou, rice cakes, etc.

Fortunately, it is not completely wiped out. Some big brands of baby food supplements under 12 months of age are doing very well. The above-mentioned ingredients appear in the ingredient list with low or no probability, and the amount of added sugar is clearly marked in the nutrition ingredient list.

As for fruit puree, fruit puree, vegetable and fruit puree… The results of the WHO survey are: in the fruit and vegetable puree products from different regions such as Europe, America and Australia, many products contain more fruit ingredients than vegetables. Therefore, when it comes to our Chinese babies, should parents make their own or widely use commercially available products? ——I suggest you think about it yourself, I won’t comment on it. Especially for fruits, unless you have to consider convenience and food safety when you go out, you can’t think of any strong reasons for feeding your baby at home with commercially available products instead of fresh fruits.

[Love reminder]: Parents of babies over 1 year old, if you often give your children adult food, which involves a lot of pastries and desserts (including sweet bread, chocolate, ice cream, etc.), please reduce the amount~

Many parents are very harsh on the requirements of commercially available foods for infants and young children, but are very tolerant of home-made foods. Especially mothers who love baking, there are often two types of phenomena:

The amount of added sugar in bakery products exceeds 15% of the energy supply ratio;

The amount of added sugar in bakery products is not much, but a small amount of dried fruit, honey, chocolate, etc. are used additionally, resulting in the energy supply ratio from simple sugar exceeding 15% (note that no matter how “dark” chocolate is, it also contains a certain amount The added sugar, unless more than 90% black chocolate, the sugar content is relatively low).

The genetic characteristics and evolutionary characteristics of our human beings determine that babies are “sweet-loving” from the moment they are born. The changes in modern lifestyles and the “high-sugar, high-fat and high-calorie” diet of modern people have led to a surge in the overall rate of overweight and obesity, as well as the proliferation of chronic non-communicable diseases. From infancy, strict control of the intake ratio of sugar, salt and fat has become a global health strategy.

ope that today’s article can give parents some new thinking! May your baby stay away from disease risks and troubles and have a truly brilliant future.

(source:internet, reference only)

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