We hope you have had a nice summer, and back to work/school/study has not been too difficult. After a quiet August, September has been a busy month for us, although of course overshadowed by the passing of the Queen and the ongoing and worsening political and economic turmoil. These are extremely worrying times for the population as a whole, with macro-level issues that need urgent attention to ensure families can afford to heat their homes sufficiently, pay the bills and buy food and other essentials. In the midst of these challenges, ensuring that infants and young children and their families can eat well remains more important than ever, especially given the life-long health impacts of poor diets in the early years.

In ‘News’ we share the highlights of SACN’s (unsurprising and concerning) analysis of what young children are eating in the UK, we share more positive news from a Scottish government evaluation of the Best Start Foods scheme, and the link to a blog we wrote for the iHV on recognising and refuting claims made on baby food pouches. In case you missed it in August, we also share again our new FAQ on water in infancy (something to file for next summer!).

We have one piece of ‘Infant Milk news’, as we finally have confirmation that Piccolo have discontinued selling infant milks.

In ‘news from the Baby Feeding Law Group UK’ we share our submission to inform the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child of the lack of necessary progress in the UK towards ensuring the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (i.e. to be breastfed, where this is desired and possible), among other rights, and our recommended actions to realise these rights. We also share highlights from the first in a series of two WHO/BMJ webinars on “The Problem with the Formula Milk Industry”, and a link if you missed it and want to catch up.

Lastly, we have three forthcoming infant feeding-related events to highlight, in case of interest (nb. one is TODAY at 2pm, scroll down to find out more).

Happy reading!

News

SACN: Feeding young children aged 1-5 years - DRAFT: Analysis of prevailing diets

As shared in the July newsletter, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published a consultation on the draft report ‘Feeding young children aged 1 to 5 years’ which closed on 20 September. We submitted a response and look forward to the release of the final report, after which we will share with you a summary of what recommendations have changed with respect to feeding of children aged 1-5 years, and will start updating our resources accordingly. In the meantime, we wanted to share with you the committee’s summary of their analysis of the prevailing diets of young children (from the 2011 Diet and Nutrition Survey of Infants and Young Children (DNSIYC) and National Diet and Nutrition Surveys (NDNS)), highlighting concerning issues which need addressing urgently, as follows:
 
Energy and macronutrients:

• Mean intakes of energy for children aged 12 to 35 months are above the estimated average requirement (EAR) for dietary energy

• Mean intakes of protein exceed the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI)

• Mean intakes of free sugars for children aged 18 to 60 months exceed current recommendations of no more than 5% of Total Dietary Energy Intake (TDEI) (currently applicable from 2 years of age)

• Mean intakes of saturated fats exceed the population recommendation of no more than 10% TDEI (currently applicable in full from 5 years of age)

• Foods high in (total) fat, salt and free sugars provide over a quarter of TDEI in children aged 18 to 47 months and over a third of TDEI in children aged 48 to 60 months

• Mean intakes of dietary fibre for children aged 18 to 60 months are below the recommended intake of 15g a day

 
Micronutrients:

• Certain groups of children, including children from lower socioeconomic status households (as measured by the Index of Multiple Deprivation) and ethnic minority groups, may be at risk of inadequate intakes of iron, zinc and vitamin A, and inadequate dietary vitamin D intakes and vitamin D status.

There is evidence of low uptake of government advice that children aged up to 5 years should be given vitamin supplements.

Scottish Government evaluation of the Best Start Foods scheme

The Scottish Government have recently published an evaluation of their Best Start Foods scheme, providing a vital safety net for those on low incomes through provision of vitamins and digitised payments to young and low-income pregnant women and low-income families with children up to 4 years of age. Payments are higher than those offered under the Healthy Start scheme and are intended to enable recipients to purchase specific foods including fresh eggs, milk (plain cow’s milk and first infant formula), fruit, vegetables and pulses (full details of both schemes are in this First Steps report: Healthy Start and Best Start Foods: A practical guide).

The results of the evaluation were broadly in line with those of the 2014 evaluation of the Healthy Start scheme (published here). Positively, the evaluation provides clear evidence of the value of the scheme, with indicators showing progress towards improving the dietary habits and wellbeing of infants, young children and their carers. The scheme decreased pressure on household finances, enabling recipients to afford essential food items for their children, and reducing the burden of financial worry. Participants reported being able to replace frozen and processed foods with fresh fruit and vegetables, enabling families to experiment preparing new types of meals with more fruit and vegetables. Recipients found introducing new foods to their children more enjoyable, and some reported a more positive attitude towards healthy eating, especially those who consumed minimal fruit and vegetables when they were younger. It was also reported that the payments were especially valuable for children with intolerances, digestive problems and for fussy eaters as catering for their needs is more expensive.
 

Although payments are not restricted to the purchase of specific product types, the evaluation found that recipients largely used the vouchers in line with recommendations, purchasing cows’ milk, ‘baby formula’, fresh fruit and veg and other foods including bread, pasta and poultry, but also other baby essentials such as nappies, toiletries and clothes. There were concerns captured around the payment value halving when children reached 1 year of age (from £9 to £4.50 a week) as recipients felt that cutting payments sacrificed the quality and quantity of fruit and vegetables purchased. It was also not well understood that the payment value in Scotland is higher up to 1 year of age to support breastfeeding mothers.

The full evaluation report can be accessed here Best Start Foods: evaluation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

We recognise the value of the Healthy Start and Best Start Foods Schemes in providing a vital safety net that protects infant and young child nutrition. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the schemes and to improve their coverage, and in support of the findings of the Best Start Foods evaluation, we continue to advocate for:

• Monitoring of the value of the Healthy Start/ Best Start Foods schemes payments in relation to food prices

• Extending eligibility

• Improving accessibility and uptake of the newly digitised scheme

• Increasing visibility

• Integrating the schemes with other benefits and services for young families

• An enhanced offer for breastfeeding women

Marketing of baby food pouches: Recognising and refuting misleading claims

In our July newsletter, we shared details of the British Dental Association research on the sugar content of baby food pouches (‘Boutique’ baby food more sugary than Coca-Cola ‘rotting children’s teeth’ (telegraph.co.uk)) and its implications for infant and young child nutrition and health. We outlined how some UK baby foods marketed for infants and young children can contribute to dental decay, and overweight, obesity and other chronic diseases later in life, through promoting overconsumption and altering taste preferences in support of highly processed foods.

In August, we shared further information on recognising and refuting the misleading claims often used to advertise baby food pouches as a Blog for the Institute of Health Visiting, which interested readers can access here.

Government action is urgently needed to tackle the ongoing and inappropriate marketing of these types of baby food products, and all infant milks, foods and drinks aimed at infants and young children. We remain hopeful that the promised consultation on the marketing and labelling of baby foods will go ahead at some point soon, although we have failed to get confirmation from the DHSC that this will be the case.

More information on commercial baby foods marketed in the UK can be found here: Marketed food for children — First Steps Nutrition Trust

FAQ: What are the recommendations for giving water during infancy?

During August, following another heatwave in the UK and after being asked a lot of questions about giving water to babies, we produced and shared a detailed FAQ document. This FAQ provides an overview of evidence-based UK public health recommendations regarding water for infants aged 0-12 months to help health workers to advise families appropriately. We also produced this supporting infographic with the key points to share on social media.

Please click here to access the full FAQ and here for the accompanying infographic.

These resources are on this webpage of our main website: Infants & new mums — First Steps Nutrition Trust.

Infant Milk News

Discontinued products

Piccolo infant milks

Having previously reported being unable to find Piccolo organic infant, follow-on and growing-up milks for sale in either high street or on-line retailers, we can now confirm that these products have been discontinued.

Looking for information about infant milks? Check out our website www.infantmilkinfo.org. Still got questions about infant milks? Contact susan@firststepsnutrition.org

Baby Feeding Law Group UK news

BFLG evidence submission for the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2022

In July, the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) published a call for Written Evidence to the Civil Society Alternative Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2022. This was an important opportunity to highlight areas in which the rights of children in the UK have not changed for the better since the CRAE published its submission to inform the List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR) in November 2020; including the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, i.e. to be breastfed, where this is desired and possible.

On behalf of its 31 organisational members, the BFLG-UK submitted a response highlighting what we believe to be important inaccuracies and omissions in the UK State Party response to the UN Committee’s List of Issues on the Rights of the Child 2022, particularly relating to infant and young child feeding. Our specific recommendations that we proposed the UNCRC should make to the UK Government were as follows:

1. Ensure accessible, evidence-based, and independent information about infant and young child feeding, and provide effective universal coverage of support for mothers who want to breastfeed
2. Acknowledge and address the association between the use of breast-milk substitutes and the increased risk of obesity in children
3. The UK should fully implement the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and its subsequent WHA resolutions through updated legislation together with ensured compliance through monitoring and enforcement.

The letter from the BFLG is available here.

We will follow up on the final, full civil society alternative report and to the response of government to this, and will keep you informed.

WHO/BMJ webinar series: The Problem with the Formula Milk Industry. Webinar 1: ‘Unhealthy Influence on Health Professionals?'

On Thursday 8 September, the first of two webinars hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO), British Medical Journal (BMJ), Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) and Children in All Policies 2030 (CAP2030) was held, entitled ‘The Problem with the Formula Milk Industry: An Unhealthy Influence on Health Professionals?' The webinar (1 hour 11 minutes) is available to watch on the on the BMJ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THRNOTDe2WM

The webinar was hosted by Dr Chris van Tulleken and included reflections from various researchers, health professionals, clinicians and experts in marketing and journalism. One issue highlighted was that currently, in the UK, patients have no way of finding out if the health professionals treating them receive any payment, sponsorship or funding from a pharmaceutical company or the formula milk industry. This is problematic because funding-related conflict of interest has the potential to influence the treatment and products that these professionals are recommending. A solution proposed by Rebecca Coombes, Head of Journalism at the BMJ, was to establish a register for health professionals in the UK, requiring them to declare any industry funding, sponsorship or financial incentives received.

This webinar provided an important opportunity to reflect on how conflicts of interest arising from the engagement of health care professionals with the formula milk industry can unduly influence infant feeding practices. See below for the second webinar in the series (taking place TODAY).

Forthcoming

WHO/BMJ webinar series: The Problem with the Formula Milk Industry. Webinar 2: ‘Should health professional associations refuse industry funding?’: September 29th

This second webinar in the series takes place on Thursday 29 September at 2pm. You can register and join the webinar here.

APPG on Infant Feeding and Inequalities Meeting: October 18th

An All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infant Feeding and Inequalities meeting will be taking place on 18th October 2022 at 1pm. It will be the first meeting by the group this year and will take place in a hybrid format. The meeting will feature guest speakers including our trustee Professor Amy Brown and will by lead by MP Alison Thewliss. If you are interested in attending this meeting (which is open to anyone), you can sign up for updates and the Zoom link via this form and visit the APPG website.

iHV conference ‘Translating vision in to reality: London, December 7th

Our director Vicky, and nutritionist Rachel, will be exhibiting at this iHV conference in London in December, sharing our work and resources with health visitors and hoping to receive feedback from our service users to improve the work we do towards our objectives, which includes providing resources for health workers to support them in their work with pregnant women and young families. Please do come and meet us in person. For more information please click here.