Horrifying truth about baby food pouches that contain alarming amounts of nasty ingredient
Some popular baby food pouches sold in UK supermarkets — including those by Ella's Kitchen — contain more of one unhealthy ingredient than a one-year-old should consume in an entire day, it has been revealed.
Government guidelines recommend that infants have as little sugar as possible, with a maximum of 10g per day. However, laboratory testing commissioned by a BBC Panorama investigation found that some products exceeded this, with one pouch from Ella's Kitchen containing a staggering 19.6g of sugar, equivalent to more than four teaspoons — more than is found in many fizzy drinks.
The investigation also revealed that most products tested failed to provide sufficient vitamin C or iron, both essential nutrients for infants' growth and development.
READ MORE: Boy, 3, dies in scorching hot 31C car after step-mum forgets to take him to nursery
Experts described the findings as 'really concerning' and criticised misleading marketing, such as 'no added sugar' claims. While technically true — no sugar is added — the process of pureeing fruit releases free sugars, making them more rapidly absorbable than those in whole fruit.
Free sugars include those naturally present in honey, syrups, and fruit juices, or released during processing — like when fruit is pureed. Unlike eating whole fruit, where sugars are contained within cell walls, pureed fruit can lead to sugar spikes and increased risk of tooth decay and obesity.
Dr. Eddie Crouch, chair of the British Dental Association, highlighted the impact on dental health, saying: 'We're seeing children barely out of weaning needing multiple tooth extractions. It's not all down to baby food pouches, but they're clearly contributing to the problem.'
Over 250 baby food pouches are currently on sale in the UK, favoured by parents for their convenience and long shelf life. As part of the investigation, the BBC tested fruit, yoghurt, and savoury pouches from six leading brands and supermarkets: Ella's Kitchen, Heinz, Piccolo, Little Freddie, Aldi, and Lidl.
Little Freddie and Piccolo both defended the accuracy of their labelling, while Ella's Kitchen said it "would never use misleading claims." Heinz declined to respond to questions about marketing.
The BBC also found 'halo marketing' was widespread - branding products with phrases like 'Good for Brains' or 'as nutritionally good as homemade' despite questionable nutritional value.
When it came to savoury pouches — often used by parents as a main meal — all tested products failed to meet iron requirements. An infant needs 7.8mg of iron daily, but the highest level found in any pouch was just 1mg, with some meat-based options delivering as little as 0.1mg.
Vitamin C levels were also alarmingly low. In one case, Piccolo's Pure Mango pouch retained less than 0.1mg of vitamin C — compared to 18.2mg found in the same quantity of fresh mango. This is far below the recommended 25mg daily intake for infants.
Although Public Health England drafted voluntary baby food guidelines in 2020, they have yet to be published under either the current Labour-led or previous Conservative governments.
The Department of Health and Social Care responded by stating that food safety laws already ensure baby food claims must be clear and accurate, and reiterated its commitment to improving children's health and tackling obesity through its broader Plan for Change.
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