Special Report: Sugar Reduction, Whey and Organic Trending in Child-Friendly Foods

22 May 2017 --- Child-friendly foods often come under fire in the food industry. High on the agenda for most food manufacturers will be the continuous need for less sugar, particularly when it comes to the marketing of “junk food”. However, foods high in salt and fat are becoming particularly undesirable when it comes to choosing what to give to young family members. 

FoodIngredientsFirst takes a look at some of the issues in the food industry relating to child-friendly food items. 

Sugar-Reduced Products
Plans to tackle childhood obesity are often driven by the need for less sugar. Although the childhood obesity issue is complex, the food sector plays an important role in relation to healthy weight. The aim is to change from the current “obesogenic” environment, where unhealthy foods are everywhere, to one that facilitates the consumption of much healthier food and drink.

Ms Kawther Hashem, nutritionist and researcher at Action on Sugar spoke with FoodIngredientsFirst: “Sugar reduction in children’s foods is currently high on the agenda. Public Health England recently published a technical report to support the food industry in achieving a 20% sugar reduction by 2020, in the nine food categories that contribute the most amount of sugar in the diets of children.”

“Sugar not only lacks any nutritional value, but eating too much of it leads to weight gain, raising the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Sugar is also without doubt a huge factor in dental caries. We're all very aware of the sugar we add to foods ourselves, but that accounts for only a fraction of the sugar we eat. It's the hidden added sugars in ready-made so called child-friendly foods which are the real problem,” she notes.

According to Hashem, the marketing of unhealthy food is partly to blame in the epidemic: “It entices, misleads and normalizes unhealthy eating habits in children,” she claims. 

However, it's not just sugar related issues that causes confusion for parents: “Lack of clear labeling on children’s products is another concern we are seeing in terms of packaging guidelines,” Hashem continues, “Since there are no clear guidelines for children, parents have to use Reference Intake values for adults.”

Nutrition is an important factor when it comes to choosing the right food for your child. According to research by a Northwell Health pediatrician, some parents are significantly more likely to purchase “health halo” products - branded to cause misleading assumptions of good nutritional value - for their children when they only view package images and don't examine nutritional labels. 

Calcium and Whey in Infant Nutrition
The importance of calcium in children’s diets has never been underestimated, during childhood and into their teenage years, children need enough calcium to support their growing bones and teeth. Calcium is one of the body's most important minerals and also has other essential roles to play, including supporting a healthy nervous system and muscle function. Nowadays, the hype around whey protein is making a move into children’s nutrition and plays as much of an important role that calcium does, in children’s nutrition. Arla Foods Ingredients have their sights set firmly on the infant nutrition market, looking to and promoting the nutritional benefits of whey in children's development. 

“We are positioning whey ingredients within the toddler nutrition segment, which is a relatively new thing for us,” Staudt Kvistgaard tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “We’re trying to look at nutrition for the toddlers segment in terms of milk calcium and specifically whey protein.”

“Within the infant formula category it’s very stable with increased focus on reducing the protein intake of formula fed babies as it’s significantly higher in infant formula compared to human milk. The new EU legislation for infant formula is also driving this agenda,” she explains. 

According to Staudt Kvistgaard whey protein offers a nutritious and high quality source of protein that supports the rapid growth and development of the child. 

Staudt Kvistgaard notes other things to consider in infant nutrition: “The introduction of healthy eating patterns early in life help to ensure healthy eating patterns later in life. It is important to introduce variety in the diet to avoid picky eaters later in life.” 

She adds that: “The type of feed introduced in early life is obviously very much influenced by the culture, infants has the same nutritional needs, but there are global differences in infant nutrition linked to length of maternity leave, social, financial and cultural factors.”

“Nutritional awareness is being reflected in the market, and we’re seeing a market growth with more and more solutions which match the lifestyles of today’s consumers. Convenience food is a focus area.”

Staudt Kvistgaard explains further: “Toddlers nutritional needs are important, so at Arla Foods Ingredients we are positioning our ingredients in a way that lets us talk about the nutritional values and how we can support our customers in adding nutritional value.”

What other things must be considered when it comes to children nutrition? “We ensure that our ingredients are applicable for the market relevant applications where convenience plays a big part and appealing packaging is another. Then the organic category is growing significantly,” Staudt Kvistgaard replies. 

Need for Organic
The demand for organics is at its highest level for many years, a decade according to some, as consumers are putting premium and clean labels before price across several food and beverage categories. As Europe, the UK and US markets recover from the economic downturn of the last ten years, coupled with the rise in purchases driven by ethics, shoppers are consciously searching for the “organic” credentials of their food and drinks - and manufacturers and retailers are listening.

In response to increasing consumer demand for organic infant formula, FrieslandCampina DOMO recently became the first producer to globally introduce organic GOS syrup. This organic dairy ingredient is rich in non-digestible galacto-oligosaccharides, produced from organic-certified lactose using a proprietary enzymatic technology. Organic Vivinal GOS Syrup is an important addition to organic infant formula. 

Erik Torringa, Product Group Manager Functional Carbohydrates at FrieslandCampina DOMO said: “This product contributes to the strategy of FrieslandCampina DOMO by providing valuable organic ingredients and bringing more diversification to the growing organic infant formula market.”

Media Relation Communication Officer at FrieslandCampina Jan-Willem ter Avest told FoodIngredientsFirst: “Organic Vivinal GOS Syrup is available since the first quarter of 2017 for EU and USA. For China the organic Vivinal GOS Syrup will be available from Q1, 2018.”

“We intend to roll out our organic GOS proposition over the entire product portfolio of GOS, i.e. liquid and powder,” he said.

The product supports the growth of good bacteria, which help suppress the proliferation of harmful bacteria and maintain a healthy digestive system.

The product contributes to growing consumer awareness of infant health and the importance of food security, animal welfare and environmental sustainability.

Free Fruit Initiative
Tesco’s ‘Free Fruit for Kids’ initiative has proved a real hit with children and parents, after the retailer revealed on 16th May that it has given out 20 million pieces of free fruit since its launch in July last year. The scheme, which was launched last summer in over 800 stores across the UK and has seen kids enjoy over six and a half million apples, eight million bananas and five and half million oranges so far.

New research by Tesco and Mumsnet has highlighted the positive effect the initiative has had, with a third of participating parents saying their children are now eating more fruit.

Matt Davies Tesco UK CEO said: “Our Free Fruit for Kids initiative plays a really important role in this, helping to create healthy eating habits that will stay with children as they grow up. We’re incredibly proud that kids across the UK have already been able to enjoy more than 20 million pieces of free fruit so far.”

Justine Roberts, Mumsnet CEO and Founder said: “Encouraging healthy eating can occupy a lot of headspace for parents. Helping children towards their five-a-day while at the same time making the weekly shop less stressful is a thoughtful move from Tesco and one that Mumsnet users have given a thumbs up to.”

The ‘Free Fruit for Kids’ initiative is just one of the ways Tesco is helping customers make healthier choices. Tesco also launched its ‘Little Helps to Healthier Living’ campaign earlier this month, including lower prices on hundreds of products, such as fruit and vegetables, and helpful ‘little swaps’, many of which contain lower levels of salt, fat and sugar than the standard alternative.

Arsenic and Acrylamide Issues
On the flip-side of “good nutrition” for children are the ongoing concerns surrounding arsenic and acrylamide. There have been some alarming cases in the past few months. Rice and rice-based products are a popular choice for parents, widely used during weaning, and to feed young children, due to its availability, nutritional value and relatively low allergic potential. Rice has, typically, ten times more inorganic arsenic than other foods and chronic exposure can cause a range of health problems including developmental problems, heart disease, diabetes and nervous system damage.

In January 2016, the EU imposed a maximum limit of inorganic arsenic on manufacturers in a bid to mitigate associated health risks. Earlier this month, researchers at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's have found that little has changed since this law was passed and that 50 per cent of baby rice food products still contain an illegal level of inorganic arsenic.

Professor Meharg, lead author of the study and Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences at Queen's, said: “This research has shown direct evidence that babies are exposed to illegal levels of arsenic despite the EU regulation to specifically address this health challenge. Babies are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of arsenic that can prevent the healthy development of a baby's growth, IQ and immune system to name but a few.”

Babies and young children under the age of five also eat around three times more food on a body weight basis than adults, which means that, relatively, they have three times greater exposures to inorganic arsenic from the same food item.

Acrylamide in food has been a serious concern since 2002 when scientists discovered the cancer-causing chemical in many common products. The chemical poses particular threats to young children: given their smaller size and the types of foods they consume, they typically take in twice as much acrylamide, per pound of body weight, as adults, according to the CEH. 

Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration issued recommendations to consumers for reducing their exposure to acrylamide-tainted foods, and released a document giving food companies guidance on how to reduce the chemical in their products. Acrylamide can be formed during frying, roasting, broiling, toasting or baking that results in the browning of foods. In general, foods cooked to darker colors have higher acrylamide levels.

Earlier this year, Changing Markets Foundation found that ten percent of biscuits for infants and young children on sale in the UK have high levels of known carcinogenic acrylamide. According to EFSA, exposing babies and young children to the chemical compound is particularly concerning, while a recent study from the UK FSA found people in Britain currently consume higher levels of acrylamide than is desirable and the risk of cancer from exposure is three times higher in infants compared with adults.

by Elizabeth Green