Children's noodles, children's dumplings, children's milk...... There are many "children's foods" on the market that claim to be safer and more nutritious. However, the reporter's investigation found that most "children's food" is not much different from ordinary food in terms of composition, but the price is much higher. Some "children's foods" even add sugar to cater to children's tastes, which is not good for health.
Children's food section in the supermarket
Quote: Labeled as a child, the value has risen sharply
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. ”
Ms. Cheng opened the e-commerce platform and found that the baby noodles sold online were also expensive. "Pay attention to the baby's growth, one bite of six kinds of nutritional fortification"...... Taking an organic infant five-grain vegetable nutrition noodle as an example, the merchant emphasized that the product meets the infant standard, and has passed the double organic certification, and no additional edible salt is added in the production process. "It looks good, but the price is outrageous. A box of 200 grams costs 58 yuan after discounting, and even if there is a discount for buying two pieces, a box will cost almost 49 yuan. ”
In Ms. Liu's view, infant noodles are complementary foods with special standards, while more "children's products" have no special basis at all, but their value has risen sharply due to the label of "children". "For example, children's dumplings are nothing more than made into colorful dough, which are smaller, but the price has to increase several times. ”
The reporter searched for "children's dumplings" on the e-commerce platform and found that most of the products emphasized "tailor-made for children". Taking a children's dumpling as an example, the merchant launched three flavors of beef carrot, shrimp three fresh, and pork mushrooms, with only 135 grams per bag, and the price was as high as 29.9 yuan, equivalent to about 22 yuan per 100 grams. Ordinary dumplings with similar flavors usually cost only 2 to 5 yuan per 100 grams. Judging from the product standard code, this children's dumpling does not have many special features, and it implements the "National Food Safety Standard for Quick-frozen Noodles and Prepared Food" (GB 19295-2021) with ordinary dumplings.
In fact, in addition to staple foods such as noodles and dumplings, "children's food" is also widely used in many categories. In a supermarket near the East Fifth Ring Road, a "children's zone" has been set up on the shelves. According to the reporter's observation, there are not only snacks such as cheese and cod intestines, seaweed crisps, but also condiments such as soy sauce and walnut oil. The price of these "children's foods" is generally higher than that of similar ordinary products.
"Children's milk is also much more expensive than regular milk. In a supermarket outside the West Second Ring Road, Ms. Zhao saw an imported milk for children's growth that was inconspicuous in appearance but sold at an astonishing price: "A box costs 128 yuan, and there are 15 boxes in it, each box is only 200 milliliters, which is more compact than most ordinary milk." ”
Ms. Liu roughly calculated that the price of this children's growth milk is more than 8.5 yuan per box. If converted into a common 250ml pack, the price of each box is more than 10 yuan. "It is said to be children's milk, but it does not indicate the specific age of the child, at most it is a concept made by the merchant. ”
A children's growth milk is small in size, but it sells for a lot of money
Catty: Add sugar to cater to the taste, and the ingredients hide routines
"Mellow and good taste, children love to drink"...... On the e-commerce platform, this children's growth milk is also selling very hot. 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.
The reporter's investigation found that similar operations are not unique. Another children's growth milk emphasizes that the product "adds a variety of nutrients to take care of healthy growth in 360 degrees". However, a closer look at the ingredient list revealed that in addition to raw milk, water, white sugar, fructooligosaccharides, food additives, multivitamins, DHA algal oil and food flavors were also added.
A children's growth milk contains white sugar, and the nutritional content is not high
Judging from the nutrition content list, the protein content of milk per 100 ml is only 2.4 grams, while the protein content of ordinary pure milk is mostly not less than 3.0 grams. In addition, the calcium content of each 100 ml of milk is only 85 mg, which is also lower than the calcium content of ordinary pure milk, which is not "more nutritious" at all.
In contrast, another organic children's milk contains crystalline fructose, although it does not contain added sugar. This sweetener has the characteristics of low calorie and high sweetness. Many parents have found that sweet milk is indeed popular with their children, but at the cost that it is difficult to accept plain milk.
The reporter found that this children's milk also has a cat greasy on the nutrition content list. At first glance, children's milk has a protein content of up to 6 grams. But if you look closely, the unit used for children's milk is "per serving", which is 200 ml. In summary, this children's milk contains 3 grams of protein per 100 ml, which is no advantage over ordinary milk.
In fact, it is not only children's milk that plays the routine, but also children's cod intestines that sell a considerable price.
"I looked at the label that it was bought because it was written that the baby was food, 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. In the comment area, some parents were surprised to find that this cod sausage itself uses frozen minced meat containing white sugar. In addition, edible salt, white sugar and potassium sorbate are added.
Judging from the nutrition facts list, the sodium content per 100 grams of cod intestine is as high as 796 mg. When the reporter asked how old this product is suitable for children, the customer service replied, "Over 1 year old can crush cod intestines into puree and mix with other foods, and over 2 years old can try to let the baby eat on his own." However, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022), the recommended daily intake of sodium for children aged 1 to 4 years is 700 mg. This means that if you eat 100 grams of cod sausage, you will already be getting more sodium than you eat, even if you don't eat any other food that day.
A children's cod intestine is quite high in sodium
"No flavor, no monosodium glutamate, no coloring, no sugar, no preservatives, no compound flavors" ...... Judging by the hype, another cod intestine for children with a nominal age of 3 and above seems to be healthier. However, the reporter found that the ingredient list still contained edible salt.
In the nutrition facts list, 75 mg of sodium looks much lower. But after careful identification, the reporter found that this is the sodium content per 10 grams, and if according to the conventional standard, the sodium content per 100 grams of cod intestines is still as high as 750 milligrams.
Reminder: Don't trust 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. Ruan Quang Feng, deputy director of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, said that in terms of nutritional needs, there is no obvious difference between the food eaten after the age of 3 and the food of ordinary adults.
"In fact, there are no special provisions for children's food after the age of 36 months in the mainland national standard, which can be produced and managed according to ordinary food, only infant food such as infant formula milk powder is different from adult food, and there are different standards. ”
The reporter learned that Article 12 of the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Labeling (Draft for Comments)" issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation also mentions that "without laws, regulations, rules and food safety standards, words or patterns shall not be used on food labels to expressly, imply or emphasize that the product is suitable for specific groups of people such as infants, children, the elderly, and pregnant women." ”
"As a parent, what you should really worry about is that children develop the bad Xi of choosing food by color, taste, shape and packaging from an early age. Nguyen Quang Phong said that "children's food" is not necessarily healthier. 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 taste is developed gradually. Ruan Guangfeng reminded 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. ”
For the usual addition of various nutritional fortifiers in "children's food", Ruan Guangfeng also suggested a rational view. "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. ”
Ruan Guangfeng proposed that in terms of children's diet, parents should not blindly believe in the dazzling "efficacy" of "children's food", but should lead by 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 a balanced and nutritious healthy diet Xi habits.
Source: Beijing Daily client