A team of public health experts from the George Institute for Global Health at the University of New South Wales, Australia, has found that around 60% of prepackaged infant and toddler foods sold in the U.S. do not meet international nutritional standards.

In their study, published in the journal *Nutrients*, the team analyzed nutritional data from 651 infant and toddler food products sold by the top eight U.S. supermarket chains. They compared this data with internationally recognized nutritional guidelines.

// Cras eget sem nec dui volutpat ultrices.

The research began when the team became aware that, despite concerns from parents about the rising popularity and health implications of commercial baby foods, there are no official nutritional guidelines for such products in the U.S. This led them to question the nutritional value of these foods.

To investigate, they traveled to the U.S. and purchased 669 baby and toddler food items from eight popular grocery chains in Raleigh, North Carolina. Using the FoodSwitch app, they scanned each product's barcode to retrieve ingredient lists and nutritional facts.

// Cras eget sem nec dui volutpat ultrices.

They then compared the nutritional content of the products with the World Health Organization’s 2022 standards for infant and toddler nutrition. The results revealed that approximately 60% of the products failed to meet these guidelines. Specifically, 70% did not meet protein standards, 44% exceeded recommended sugar levels, and about 25% fell short of calorie requirements.

The researchers also highlighted concerns about food pouches—soft packets with pureed food that allow infants and toddlers to feed themselves. Only 7% of these products met sugar recommendations.

Additionally, they uncovered widespread packaging misinformation, with 99.4% of the products making at least one false claim, and some having as many as 11 misleading statements.