Baby Foods Found To Have High Levels Of Fat And Sugar

Baby Foods Found To Have High Levels Of Fat And Sugar

You try and eat the right foods in pregnancy. You try and breast-feed as long as possible. But then when your baby starts to eat real food, are you feeding her junk?

This survey from the Children's Food Campaign says some baby foods contain as much sugar and saturated fats as chocolate biscuits or cheeseburgers.

Apparently some of the baby biscuits also contain trans fats, which have been linked to heart disease and some scientists think should be banned from all foods.

The company which makes these particular biscuits says it has already discontinued them.

But the response from Heinz about their Farley's Original Rusks – which have more sugar in them than chocolate digestive biscuits – is bizarre.

"Farley's Rusks have been enjoyed by generations of babies, and some adults too, for 120 years,

"Enriched with vitamins and minerals, the unique Farley's Rusk recipe has remained virtually unchanged," says Heinz.

Well that's not very reassuring, is it? 120 years ago, people used laudanum – opium and alcohol – to keep babies quiet and fed them a mixture of flour, water, beer and sugar. What did they know? Perhaps they should take another look at that recipe.

My baby hasn't reached the point of eating real food yet, but when she does, I will be reading the ingredients on everything religiously.

The trouble is, we don't always know what we're looking for. Babies need more fats than adults, for example, so you're not supposed to give them "skimmed" foods. I've already started wondering whether I should be buying organic vegetables. It's a minefield. And the leaflet the health visitor gave us is sketchy at best.

I'd be interested to hear from any mothers out there who have been feeding their babies Farley's Rusks or similar – will you now stop? How guilty do you feel?

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