KFDC response to the BBC exposé on baby food…
It’s clear that we’re at a critical juncture when it comes to the standards of children’s food in the UK.
The recent Panorama programme, backed by research[1] from the University of Leeds led by Diane Threapleton and Ali Morpeth, highlighted a reality we’ve known for some time: much of the food marketed for babies and young children is not as healthy and nutritious as it purports to be. Marketing on baby products is often misleading, with healthy-sounding claims masking poor nutritional profiles.
Many parents rely on these products and, as the report suggests, they are undoubtedly having a real and long-term impact when it comes to shaping children’s food preferences and longer-term dietary and dental health outcomes. It's hard to believe that it’s been 22 years since the government reviewed the standards and regulations around children’s food and sadly it doesn’t seem they’re inclined to remedy this any time soon.
The spotlight over the past couple of weeks has been on baby food, and rightly so given the lack of regulation in this space and the importance of feeding in the early years. But we also want to stress that these issues don’t stop when babies and toddlers reach 3 years old. From main meals to drinks to lunchbox snacks, the wider kids’ category is full of the same problems: too many ultra-processed products, confusing marketing, and a big gap between what’s convenient and what’s good for children.
At the Kids’ Food and Drink Collective, we’ve come together because we believe that kids and parents deserve better. Our primary goal is to drive up standards, not just for babies, but for children and families. Whilst we believe parents should be supported and encouraged to cook as much as possible, we also know that busy mums, dads and caregivers are rarely able to cook everything their child eats from scratch. When they need convenience, they have a right to products that are honestly marketed and labelled, and that they can trust to be what they say they are.
And that’s where the KFDC comes in. With the benefit of our combined experience in the children’s food sector and the continued help of a children’s dietician and nutritionist, we’ve developed a unique set of criteria that brand’s products must meet to become “KFDC approved”. Our primary goal is to make healthier children’s food and drink brands more accessible, available and identifiable, and help both industry and consumers make informed choices. We recognise that we cannot let perfect be the enemy of better and we must work within what is realistic and feasible for retailers, food service providers and consumers. We believe our criteria is an honest reflection of this.
We also exist to support and raise awareness of the challenger brands that are genuinely offering something better, and back continued innovation. Ours is a thriving and dynamic category, and these are genuinely exciting times in the children’s food sector.
We started the Kids’ Food and Drink Collective because we believe in the spirit of collaboration, and that a broad, category wide approach to improving the children’s food and drink offering is the only way to bring about real change. Parents deserve to be able to make an informed choice on what they feed their kids, and a food industry that takes their family’s health seriously. We are determined to make this happen and look forward to continuing to engage on these issues.
Get in touch if you would like to get involved!
[1] https://www.sustainweb.org/assets/which-commercial-baby-foods-in-crisis-1745788638.pdf
