A teenager aisle? A men’s aisle? A women’s aisle? An aged care aisle?

These don’t exist. Why? Because these people just eat regular food. Like anyone else. 

So why do babies have their own aisle?! This is a really big question, which poses some controversy with the industry. 

The Facts

The fact is that baby food has typically been sold in a pouch or a jar - and it is made to be shelf stable to ease convenience for parents. The aisle of baby food contains shelf stable meals and snacks, which started as a really well-intentioned initiative, but as anything- has been taken further than intended with marketing. 

Some baby food products say things like “organic”, “sugar free” or list out the number of serves of veggies contained within it. Whilst these claims are legally true, however they might be misleading to the parents who simply want to do the best for their precious cargo. 

The Study

There has been a study at Western Sydney University which analysed 276 baby food pouches, and found that “a high proportion of squeeze pouch products available in Australia do not contain adequate nutrients, are high in sugar and not fortified with iron”. It goes on to show that only 2 out of these 276 pouches analysed were found to have adequate nutrients, while 59% of pouches also claimed to have ‘no sugar added’, despite the addition of free sugars.

‘No added sugars’ is a complicated area within food labelling, and doesn’t only relate to sugar itself being added. Things like fruit juice can be added to a product which says “no added sugars”, which ultimately has no valuable nutritional benefit for the food- except to sweeten it. This keeps children happy, coming back for more and more. 

What it doesn’t do is to expose babies to bitter, tangy, sour or savoury blends of food. The importance of this exposure to flavours early on cannot be overstated- as this is the crucial window of time which defines babies flavour preferences and taste buds. The First 1000 Days is when the foundations are laid, and relying too heavily on sweetened products will surely make for a less adventurous eater later in life. 

Another labelling tool is “one serving of veggies” listed on the front of pack. Whilst this is technically true (otherwise it wouldn’t be there)- a crucial part of why we eat veggies is for their micronutrients. By making this food shelf stable, the manufacturer has had to process this with high-heat pasteurisation, which kills off most of those micronutrients of iron, zinc, magnesium and Vitamin B6 ...to name a few. These nutrients are vital for growth and development, and if the manufacturing process cannot maintain them, it is unfair to market this message to parents who rely on getting vegetables in through this food. 

Beyond The Baby Aisle: Enter Le Puree

We believe that marketing should be fair and transparent. Which is why, although our food contains no additives or preservatives and is snap frozen to maintain the highest level of micronutrients… we still don’t make nutrition claims. What we do is put the ingredients on the front of the pack. Because we have nothing to hide and our meals are created with babies’ best interest in mind.

See you in the freezer, not the baby food aisle. 🫶🏼

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