Sodium labels important for baby foods

When it comes to consumer concern over food additives, salt and sugar are often at the top of the list, but these ingredients are especially relevant to worries over baby food. A new study published in the upcoming issue of Pediatrics focuses on the contents of baby foods and how they could possibly contribute to obesity.

The Associated Press cited the study, titled “Sodium and Sugar in Complementary Infant and Toddler Foods Sold in the United States.” A majority of the foods targeted to young children contained added sugars and the source notes that a proper dose of salt needs to be less than 210 milligrams per serving. More than 70 percent of infant dinners examined by the study exceeded this level.

The lead researcher behind the project, Mary Cogswell of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the source that too much sodium in the critical early years of childhood could lead to medical complications for the child later on.

“Blood pressure tracks from when children are young up through adolescence into when they’re adults,” she said. “Eating foods which are high in sodium can set a child up for high blood pressure and later on for cardiovascular disease.” However, Cogswell also added that the “majority of infant foods were low in sodium.”

Businesses that produce foods for younger demographics should make this information clear and easy to understand on food labels. Companies can use custom labels to highlight the health benefits and nutritional information of certain items, and for baby foods, they can compress this data and make it stand out so parents will find it without any confusion. It can be hard to tell which additives need a disclaimer without proper research, so labels should do the heavy work for the consumer.