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Infant Foods

Asked by Vikki SladeLiberal DemocratDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 25 June 2025UIN 60663

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps with the Food Standards Agency to (a) review the standards for baby food products and (b) ensure that those standards are updated to include (i) new baby foods made available in the last 20 years, (ii) a limit on the total sugar content of baby foods and (iii) standards for health claims made by manufacturers on baby food packaging.

Answered by Ashley Dalton

Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influences many aspects of wellbeing in later life.

It is vital that we maintain the highest standards for foods consumed by babies and infants, which is why we have regulations in place that set nutritional, compositional, and labelling standards for commercial baby food. These ensure that the ingredients used in commercial baby food are suitable for the nutritional needs of infants and require businesses to ensure that labelling in clear and not misleading. The regulations also set labelling standards to ensure consumers have clear and accurate information about the products they buy. We continue to keep these regulations under review to ensure they reflect the latest scientific and dietary guidelines.

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