“As sweet as Coca Cola.” The British Dental Association warns in a press release published in early July about the risks of consuming squeeze compotes for young children, especially babies: some of these plastic pumpkins contain more sugar in proportion than Coca-Cola, and its mode of absorption – bringing the flask to the mouth and aspirating the contents – leads to the creation of more cavities, they say.
The BDA analyzed the contents of 109 of these envelopes, choosing different brands available in the UK and different contents offered. She writes that some baby food packages offered for babies have been found to have “obscene levels of sugar”, and calls for “far-reaching government action in the baby food and drink sector”.
“They must make sugar the new tobacco, especially when it comes to our youngest patients,” writes the BDA, recalling that “tooth decay is the leading cause of hospitalization in young children.”
“Up to two-thirds of the recommended daily amount for an adult in sugar”
In its analysis of various products offered for children under 12 months of age, the BDA notes that more than “one quarter contained more sugar by volume than a Coke.” The four-month-old baby products contain “the equivalent of up to 150% of the sugar levels of soda,” and all were fruit-based mixes, she notes. Some of these blends “have up to two-thirds of the recommended daily amount [au Royaume-Uni] for an adult in sugar”, it is further explained. Products containing vegetables generally have lower levels of sugar.
As a reminder, in addition to cavities, “excess sugar can cause overweight, obesity and associated diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer,” explains ANSES (Agence Nationale Sécurité Sanitaire Alimentaire National).
In France, last month, health professionals warned about the phenomenon of “coca babies”, these very young children who drink soft drinks from the first months, which causes cavities in their baby teeth, even infections from a younger age. Marco Mazevet, from the French dental surgeons, recalled on our antenna that the recommended daily dose of sugar is 25 g for an adult, half for a child. Some of the products studied by the BDA contain 17.3 grams of sugar per 100 grams of product.
The British organization also points out that these products give the impression of being “healthy” products to parents, with denominations such as “no added sugars” or “only natural sugars”. However, even if it’s natural fruit sugars, there can be too much. “Dentists have pointed out that when it comes to teeth, it makes little or no difference whether the sugar is added or natural,” the BDA writes.
“It may seem that a glass of orange juice in the morning for a baby or young child is good for health. But no, it’s too much. We are not cut out to swallow the equivalent of six oranges in twenty seconds,” she explained. Marco Mazevet.
With these envelopes, “the food spends more time in contact with the teeth”
On the other hand, the BDA warns of the risks associated with the way these products are ingested, which are put in the mouth and inhaled. “The content is often sucked directly from the pocket, which causes the food to spend more time in contact with the baby teeth, just as they grow, and puts the teeth at risk of erosion and cavities,” it explains.
The French website L’Assurance Maladie writes that “when we eat, the acids produced by sugar bacteria rise in our mouths and attack the teeth, promoting cavities. It takes several hours for this acidity to disappear.” And by “consuming small amounts of sugars several times a day, the acidity never goes away in the mouth and attacks the teeth permanently.”
The English health authorities recommend that from six months of age, babies should be introduced to drinking their food from a cup or glass, and discouraged from drinking from a bottle from 12 months.
The company Ella’s Kitchen, whose products are among the sweetest according to the BDA classification, explains in a press release that it “takes children’s nutrition very seriously” and has “reduced the proportion of fruits with a high sugar content” from their products. The company adds that it does not advise that its purées be consumed directly from the bag.
Annabel Karmel, a company also in question, writes for its part that its food is “specially designed for babies” and that “the limited sugar content comes from the natural sugars present in the fruits used”.
Source: BFM TV
