Survey: Majority of UK Mums ‘Concerned’ About Ingredients in Children’s Food

30 Apr 2014 --- Three quarters of UK mums want the food industry to reduce the levels of salt, fat and sugar in food targeted at children, according to a new survey. The national survey, by marketing and insights group Mum Panel and commissioned by Organix, reveals that nine out of ten (90%) Mums think children eat too much junk.

The survey, which examined the attitudes and eating habits of more than 700 mums of children aged 6 months to five years, also revealed that Six out of 10 (59%) are sometimes shocked at the number of ingredients in food aimed at children, with more than half (55%) worried about what is goes in children’s food.

It discovered also that more than three quarters (78%) try to avoid buying food that’s high in fat, salt and sugar, while four out of 10 (41%) say that avoiding artificial additives is almost impossible.

While parents try to choose nutritious meals for their children, most said it was hard to make the right choices – and wanted clearer labelling and regulation to protect the nutritional value of children’s food.  A third of parents struggled to understand the ingredients in products, while 37% of those surveyed said that particular additives affect their child’s behaviour.

“We know that parents want to give their children good, healthy and nutritious food, but it’s not always easy to make good food choices,” said Anna Rosier, managing director of Organix. “We are launching the No Junk Challenge to help parents with advice on how to read the ingredients, to identify the dirty dozen, as well as providing fun activities to show parents what is in the food, and simple recipes to try out at home.  

“We are also calling for the Government and the food industry to do their part.  We need regulation and clear easy to understand labelling that will help parents choose the best for their children.  So we’re calling on parents to sign up to the No Junk Pledge.”

The No Junk campaign will call on the government and food industry to address the artificial additives and to remove the high quantities of added salt, fat and sugar content in foods targeted at children.  The challenge aims to create a groundswell of support beyond this initial campaign phase, to move on to develop a manifesto for children’s food in October 2014.