Claims on children's food mislead

The majority of food items aimed specifically at children have poor nutritional content and yet many of these products continue to make positive healthy claims on the label.

Eighty nine percent of regular foods were found to have high levels of sugar, fat or sodium, according to the study of 367 products which specifically excluded confectionery, soft drinks and bakery items.

Of the foods classed as having poor nutritional quality (PNQ), 62 per cent made positive claims about their nutritional value on the front of the packet. The findings of the study were is published in the July issue of the UK-based journal Obesity Reviews.

Only 11 per cent of the products Elliott and her colleagues evaluated provided good nutritional value. The 367 products were bought from a national supermarket chain stocking 50,000 food and non-food items in December 2005. They included food products and packaging that were presented in such a way that children were the clear target audience.

Products with high sugar levels accounted for 70 per cent of the goods with PNQ. Despite this, 68 per cent included some sort of nutritional claim on the package, such as a source of whole grains, source of iron or low in fat. Cereals and fruit snacks were particularly likely to make nutritional claims and have high levels of sugar.

Steve - this is why we say that you MUST read labels. More importantly, you must understand what is on the labels. Big Food does and always will try to deceive through marketing and packaging.