10 Jun 2025 New NHS guidance recommends parents avoid baby food pouches: Food Active response
The NHS has issued new guidance on commercially available baby food, recommending that parents avoid relying on shop-bought baby food pouches as everyday meals.
The move comes following growing pressure for more action on commercially available baby food, after years of campaigning from First Steps Nutrition Trust, a recent BBC Panorama documentary exposed the truth behind baby food pouches and new research which found large numbers of commonly available and popular baby food products are high in sugary pureed fruit, often watery and low in energy, minerals and vitamins.
Baby food pouches have significantly grown in popularity in recent years, largely consisting of fruit and vegetable-based puree snacks. These foods are traditionally seen as suitable ‘first foods’ for infants when they start solids; however, for the first time the NHS has published guidance to parents to avoid relying on these foods for everyday meals.
The updated guidance on the NHS Start for Life website also now advises parents to check food labels and choose products with the least amount of sugar, and to not let babies or children suck directly from food pouches – which can increase their risk of tooth decay.
One of the key issues with baby food pouches is the confusing guidance on when to start introducing these foods into a baby’s diet, with some products suggesting they are suitable from 4 months. This undermines the recommendation to start introducing solids from 6 months. The updated guidance also now states that parents should wait until their baby is around six months old before feeding them solid foods, even if labels say the products are suitable from four months.
Beth Bradshaw, Food Active Policy and Advocacy Manager said:
We are pleased to see the recent spotlight placed on the commercial baby food market has resulted in the NHS issuing long overdue and much needed guidance for parents.
However, simply telling parents to avoid relying on these pouches is not enough. The pervasive and misleading marketing of baby food must also be addressed; as well as updates to baby food regulations which are currently out of date and not fit for purpose.
The importance of good nutrition in the early years cannot be underestimated – we hope the government uses this as a stepping stone to more comprehensive regulation of the commercial baby food sector.
