The Problem of Baby Food
You might be surprised to learn that commercial baby food was only invented in the early 20th century. Before that, babies were weaned onto the same foods the rest of the family were eating. And in Victorian times, that started sometime around 9-12 months of age.
The history of infant formula needs its own dedicated chapter: here we will look at the foods generally thought of as “solids” …. even though they rarely are!
In the 1920s, the canned food industry was booming after World War One. Transportation of fresh foods was slow and food could easily deteriorate before reaching its destination. Home refrigeration wasn’t widely-available. But commercial “canning” changed everything. Another way of preserving food was to dehydrate it. By removing the water, foods could be concentrated and more easily transported and stored. Adding the water back in the home rehydrated products, ready for cooking and serving.
The market for selling these preserved foods was huge but manufacturers spotted another demographic they could tap into:
Babies.
As women's lives continued to evolve after the war, fewer were entering domestic service in the home. Mothers had heavy workloads as they managed cooking, cleaning and laundry for families without servants. Being able to use pre-prepared food to feed their infants was a godsend and tiny cans of pureed fruit, vegetables and meat-based meals quickly became popular
Breastfeeding rates steadily decreased as more and more women were influenced to use the commercially available baby formulas being promoted and sold by paediatricians and nurses. But concerns about the iron levels of these formula fed babies saw the introduction of fortified cereals - primarily rice due to lower allergy risk - as a way to increase iron intake. The timing of these cereals and even purees being added to the diet dropped as low as 2-6 weeks after birth! Without any scientific evidence to guide them, health professionals and food manufacturers could make up their own recommendations. At one stage, some babies were being fed cereal before they left hospital two weeks after birth!
By the 1950s, commercial baby food had become big business. Alongside the tiny tin cans with bright, illustrated labels, small glass jars juggled for position on shelves in the new self-serve supermarkets. Teething rusks, various cereals and even sweet biscuits for babies were also heavily promoted and women's magazines were filled with images of chubby babies and happy mothers advertising brands like Heinz and Gerber.
But it was the 21st century which brought a new player onto the crowded field: plastic pouches were initially promoted as an easier way to serve soft foods like yoghurt but their popularity soon led them to dominate the baby food aisle. Cans had already lost most of the market to glass jars, which were easier to use and could be resealed (as well as being reusable as small storage in the home and garage!) But glass is breakable, soft plastic is not. Soon pouches took over completely. Parents had even discovered older babies and toddlers could simply suck the contents directly from the pouch, doing away with bowls and cutlery.
However, soft plastics were already recognised for their role in street litter and global pollution - and their difficulties in recycling. Topped with hard plastic screw top lids, not only does that present the complexity of two types of plastic but these lids have become a litter problem in public spaces.
The greater problem though is the developmental impact on infants from sucking these soft foods directly from the pouch. Sucking is an important part of transferring milk from breast or bottle however food is supposed to be chewed. Digestion begins in the mouth as saliva starts the process. Mouths - even before they have molars - mash food together with saliva before the tongue gathers it into a bolus and moves it into place for swallowing. All these repeated movements support the development of the mouth and jaw. Babies who feed on pureed foods beyond the initial introduction period can become averse to foods with more texture. Toddlers certainly do not benefit from continuing a diet of pureed foods and can develop ongoing food aversions.
All babies, regardless of being baby-led or parent-led as solids are introduced should transition to finger foods and self-feeding around 8 months. By 12 months, babies should be eating the same foods as the rest of the family, with minimal modifications.
When children are eating directly from the pouch, they are not seeing their food. It is an homogeneous ooze which flows into their mouth when they suck or squeeze. They do not see the different colours or experience the different flavours and textures. Pouches can be sucked from while a child is moving about, which is not only a choking hazard but takes away the social experience of sitting with others to eat.
Alongside the array of pouches on the shelves are other ultraprocessed foods, labelled as snacks. Often in the form of extruded “puffs”, these dry starch-based products mask as healthy choices by listing fruits or vegetables on the packaging. However, the fine print reveals only bare traces have been included to lightly colour or flavour the potato or other starch which has been processed into bite-size, uniform shapes.
Most disturbing of all, this mega industry of infant convenience foods is largely unregulated and not bound to any standards. A recently published review: Commercially-produced infant and toddler foods—How healthy are they? An evaluation of products sold in Australian supermarkets made these disturbing observations:
Every commercially produced infant and toddler food product available in Australian supermarkets in 2022 failed to meet World Health Organization recommendations for product promotion.
A total of 78% of products did not meet the overall nutritional requirements. This was most commonly due to products failing energy and total sugar content requirements.
Up to 21 different claims were found on product packaging, with products on average displaying 6.7 claims.
Pouches, which have experienced rapid growth in the infant and toddler food market in Australia, currently represent more than 50% of all products available on supermarket shelves. This is concerning, given these products had the highest use of prohibited claims.
The blame here does not lie with parents. Quite rightly, they assume any food marketed for infants and young children will be nutritious, healthy and strictly controlled. Time-poor adults reach for these products on the belief they as good as, if not better, than meals prepared in their own kitchen.
Several studies have emerged in recent years showing that commercial infant and toddler foods in Australia are not in line with global standards, with the most recent study showing that 90% of products contained free sugars (defined as any added sugars, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices), and less than 50% met the draft nutritional criteria established by the WHO (Scully et al., 2023).
What should babies be eating in the second six months of life?
It is unnecessary to provide special foods when introducing solids. At six months, babies can begin sharing meals with their family, with simple adaptations to make them easy to hold. This, of course, is dependent on the adults and other children eating a wide range of healthy, fresh foods. Which is not always the case.
Globally, ultra-processed foods are increasingly becoming the primary part of diets for adults AND children. Babies in many western societies are born into families where nobody is buying or cooking fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and protein from plants or animals. For some people, lifestyles prevent the extra labour of buying and preparing meals from scratch. Others have financial barriers to the higher expense (perceived or actual) of fresh foods while in some places, food deserts mean there is nowhere accessible to buy ingredients to prepare meals.
For families in these circumstances, commercial baby foods might be the only source of appropriate food in a household heavily reliant on fast food and convenience food. Which makes it even more important that infant foods are regulated and their marketing is not misleading. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
