The WORST ‘healthy’ baby food revealed – as one in five supermarket products ‘putting health at risk’

BABY food marketed as ‘healthy’ to parents is too high in sugar and salt, a damning report shows. One in five products sold in major UK supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda contain excessive amounts of sugar – putting babies’ health at risk, said Which?. Many baby foods are dangerously high is sugar despite claims they are ‘healthy’ Which? assessed over 800 products from popular baby food brands The independent consumer organisation warned poor diets among babies and young kids could lead to problems like childhood obesity and tooth decay, and take a toll on their health later in life too. It comes as over a fifth of four-to-five-year-olds are overweight or obese and over a fifth of five-year-olds suffering rotting teeth, according to the report. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! Which? analysed over 800 baby food and drink products sold at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrison’s, Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl for their sugar and salt content. It found that, as of May 2026, almost one in five products (18 per cent) sold by popular brands – such as Heinz, Ella’s Kitchen, Kiddylicious and Organix – failed guidelines on sugar content introduced for baby food last year. Heinz Fruity Banana Custard Pots were found to breach sugar guidelines introduced last year Credit: Heinz So did apple-flavoured Fruit Wriggles from Kiddylicious Credit: Kiddylicious Meanwhile, 12 per cent of products failed the added sugars guidelines, 5 per cent failed the sodium guidelines, and 1.6 per cent failed the added salt guidelines. Added sugar refers to the addition of sugar, syrups or honey to foods, but foods can also contain natural sugars from fruit or milk. The government asked baby food manufacturers to reduce sugar and salt content and end misleading product marketing by February 2027. But there had been “no meaningful impact so far on the overall healthiness of commercial baby food”, according to Which?. Most read in Health “The proportion of products that do not satisfy the sugar, sodium, added sugars and added salt guidelines is largely unchanged since February 2024,” it said. Only three products have been reformulated with lower sugar content, the consumer group said. Ella’s Kitchen’s Mango, Pear and Almond pouches were found to contain 12g per 100g of sugar Credit: EllasKitchen Piccolo Organic Strawberry Date Fruit Sticks has 85 per cent of their energy coming from sugar Credit: mylittlepiccolo Finger foods such as apple crisps or strawberry puffs were most likely to breach guidelines – more than half failed the added sugars guidelines. Companies have also brought out new products since the voluntary guidelines were introduced. One such example is Ella’s Kitchen’s Nutty Blends Mangoes, Pears and Almonds. The fruit purée, meant for breakfast or dessert, appeared in supermarkets after August 2025, when voluntary guidelines for baby food and drink were introduced. The 85g pack contains 12g of sugar per 100g – whereas guidelines state that products should contain less than 10g per 100g of product. Little Freddie’s Organic Dairy Free Strawberry Coconut Yoghurt, which launched after August 2025, failed added sugar guidelines as it contains coconut water, considered an added sugar. One in eight of the breakfast and dessert products assessed were in breach of the guidelines. Out of the brands assessed, Kiddylicious had the most products failing the added sugars guidelines at 38 per cent. Organix followed with 29 per cent of its products failing the guidelines, Heinz with 20 per cent and Little Freddie with 11 per cent. The Heinz Fruity Banana Custard was in breach with 15g of sugar per 100g. Which? said 86 per cent of the energy from Kiddylicious Apple Fruit Wiggles came from sugar, when guidelines state this should be less than 25 per cent. Piccolo’s Fruit Sticks Strawberry, Apple & Date had the same issue, with 85 per cent of their energy coming from sugar. The Which? report concluded that the baby food industry was “contributing to long-term health problems” in children, and suggested that mandatory sugar limits would be needed. Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, said: “Parents will rightly be worried to discover that toddler snacks disguised by wholesome, healthy looking packaging can actually contain more sugar than a chocolate digestive biscuit. “It is unacceptable that we found manufacturers reformulated just three products to make them healthier, but they launched eleven brand-new high-sugar foods onto supermarket shelves. “This investigation proves that relying on food brands to mark their own homework is a failure.” The NHS last week warned parents to “not rely” on food pouches as “everyday food” for their kids, after UK research found they were more similar to sugary drinks than nutritious food. What did the companies say? The Sun has contacted Kiddylicious, Kraft Heinz, Organix, Piccolo and Little Freddie for comment. An Ella’s Kitchen spokesperson said: “We strongly support the new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) guidelines and believe they should be made mandatory across the baby food category, in order to raise standards and ensure that parents and carers have access to products they know they can trust, regardless of which brand they’re buying. “Over the past year, we have worked closely with OHID to ensure that all products leaving our warehouse will be in full nutritional and marketing compliance by the February 2027 deadline. “Over 95 per cent of our range already meets these higher OHID nutritional standards, with the remaining undergoing reformulation or de-listing over the coming months. “A number of these reformulations have already been rolled out since May 2026. “Regarding the Nutty Mangoes, Pears and Almonds blend in particular, we have increased the pear content and reduced the mango content of the recipe in order to reduce sugar by 16 per cent, bringing the product in line with the OHID recommendations. “The reformulated blend, now labelled ‘Nutty Pears, Mangoes and Almonds,’ will be on shelves from January. “We continue to welcome the increased focus on healthy eating for little ones, and regularly review our recipes to ensure we’re providing safe, convenient, and nutritious options that support parents and carers when life gets busy.” A Kraft Heinz spokesperson told The Times: “We welcome the government’s voluntary guidelines and are actively working to reduce sugar and salt where possible. “We know these changes matter, and making them carefully helps us maintain the taste and quality parents and caregivers expect from our products.” Comment now