Children's soy sauce, children's noodles, children's biscuits, ......Have you ever seen or bought any of these "children's foods"?
According to the survey results, more than eighty percent of the parents surveyed tend to buy products with the word "children's food" when buying food for their children. Most "children's foods" are not much different from ordinary foods in terms of composition, but they are much higher. For example, the pecan oil produced by the same manufacturer is nearly 40 yuan more expensive for children than the ordinary model.
Is there a special production standard for children's food?Is it the real thing or a marketing gimmick?Is it necessary to buy "children's food" specifically?
Source: Kale** Photography Ning Ying.
Labeled as a child and worth a lot**.
Considering that her daughter, who is almost two years old, likes to eat noodles, Ms. Cheng made a special trip to a chain of maternal and baby products stores. "The noodles eaten by adults are generally high in salt, so I am afraid that it will not be good for children's health, so it is better to buy special ones for infants and young children. On the shelves, there are a variety of products such as infant beef and tomato nutritious noodles, pork liver and spinach nutritious noodles, and colorful butterfly noodles. "A box is only 200 grams, which costs 39 yuan, which is much more expensive than ordinary noodles. ”
In Ms. Cheng's view, there are special standards for infant noodles, and more "children's products" have no special basis at all, but their value is greatly increased by the label of "children". For example, children's dumplings are nothing more than made into colored dough, which is smaller, but it has to be multiplied several times. ”
According to the survey, children's dumplings do not have too many special features, and they all implement the "National Food Safety Standard for Quick-frozen Noodles and Prepared Food" (GB 19295-2021) like ordinary dumplings, but they have increased several times. In addition to staple foods such as noodles and dumplings, "children's food" is also widely used in many categories.
Most of them talk to themselves, and the ingredients hide routines.
According to the survey, the monthly sales volume of a shopping platform "Children's Nutrition Toast" reached 20,000 orders, but there were as many as 22 kinds of ingredients, and the implementation standard was only the national standard for ordinary bread"Children's pasta" sells more than 3,000 orders a month, but in fact, it is just a ...... of making ordinary spiral noodles into cute shapes
Mellow and good taste, children love to drink "......".On the e-commerce platform, this children's growth milk is also selling very well. It is worth noting that there is another mystery in the "good taste" pursued by merchants. In the ingredient list, the ingredient after raw milk is white sugar.
There are also organic children's milks that do not contain white sugar, but they also contain crystalline fructose. This sweetener has the characteristics of low calorie and high sweetness. Sweet milk is indeed popular with children, but the nutritional content is no different from that of regular milk.
A children's growth milk contains white sugar, and the nutritional content is not high. Source: Beijing**.
Children's food "is not particularly nutritious and has no special benefits for children's health." Some merchants' promotion of "children's food" is a marketing tool to capture the psychology of consumers. Many children's foods on the market will also be printed with words such as "no additives" and "pure natural", but truly high-quality children's food is not just additive-free, but needs to meet the nutritional needs of children's growth.
Far beyond the national standard, eating is harmful.
I looked at the label that it was written that the baby was born, but when I opened it, I saw a lot of ingredients list, and I didn't dare to give it to the baby at all. Some parents were surprised to find that the cod intestines themselves are made of frozen minced meat with white sugar. In addition, edible salt, white sugar and potassium sorbate are added. Although some cod intestines are advertised as having no additives, the sodium content of cod intestines is as high as 750 mg per 100 grams, and according to the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022), the recommended daily sodium intake for children aged 1 to 4 years is 700 mg.
There are also several children's soy sauces with relatively large online sales, although they all claim that their products are "low sodium" and "salt reduction", but in fact, the sodium content has reached about 400mg 10ml, far exceeding the national standard for "low-sodium food" (GB T23789-2009: low-sodium food sodium content 120mg 100ml). After purchasing, parents may lower their vigilance because of the slogan of "low sodium and salt reduction", and add more when cooking, which will not only lead to excessive sodium intake in children, but also invisibly cause children to "heavy taste", thereby increasing the risk of hypertension and other diseases in the future.
Foods under the banner of "children's food" are actually high in sugar, high in sodium, containing trans fatty acids, and some add various additives in order to pursue appearance and taste, which is not suitable for children from a nutritional point of view, and even interferes with children's taste nerve development and affects calcium absorption. In view of this, parents must carefully review the nutrition facts list before buying, and avoid foods that are high in sugar, salt or have too many additives.
There are no standards for children's food.
At present, China has not set up a special classification of "children's food", nor has it formulated special laws and regulations and national food safety standards.
China only has strict specifications for infant food within 36 months of age, infant formula milk powder and complementary food have corresponding national food safety standards, and food that meets the national standard specifications is more suitable for children of this age.
There is no national standard for special food for children over 36 months old in China, because children over 36 months old can already eat the same food as **, so there is no special national standard for children's food. Most of the so-called children's food is self-talk, and you should carefully check the nutrition facts list before purchasing.
Source: Kale** Photography Ning Ying.
Don't be gullible about efficacy and avoid taste dependence.
The so-called 'children's food' is mostly just a marketing strategy. Apart from infant formula and complementary foods for infants and young children, there is no need for any other 'children's food' and parents do not need to buy such foods. Some experts said so.
The vast majority of "children's foods" on the market today tend to make a big deal about flavor and texture, but the consequences of this are likely to come at the cost of adding unhealthy ingredients. For example, the use of sugar to sweeten is the simplest and most effective way to attract children, but it can easily increase the risk of obesity and tooth decay.
A child's tastes are developed gradually. Experts remind that if children are allowed to eat too many heavy flavors from an early age to increase children's appetite, they will become more and more dependent on taste and the taste will become heavier and heavier. "The heavier your mouth is when you are younger, the more difficult it is to control your salt requirements when you grow up, and the higher the risk of high blood pressure. ”
Experts also recommend a rational approach to the addition of various nutritional fortifiers in "children's food". "As long as these nutritional fortifiers are added, they will be sold much more expensive, in fact, they are not cost-effective, and these nutrients can be obtained through other foods. ”
In terms of children's diet, parents should not blindly believe in the dazzling "efficacy" of "children's food", but should set an example, carefully check the ingredient list and nutrition content list, understand the real nutritional value of food, help children choose suitable food, enrich the variety of food as much as possible, and guide children to develop balanced and nutritious healthy eating habits.
Perspective News Agency Comprehensive People**, Beijing**, Hubei released the "WeChat *** Shanghai CDC " WeChat *** report).
Editor: Liu Songling.
Proofreader: Li Xuying.
Review: Gong Zimo.