Blankenship, J.L., White, J.M. orcid.org/0000-0002-2375-0328, Pries, A. et al. (15 more authors) (2023) First foods in a packaged world: Results from the COMMIT consortium to protect young child diets in Southeast Asia. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 19 (S2). e13604. ISSN 1740-8695
Abstract
Although commercially produced complementary foods (CPCFs) are increasingly sold throughout Southeast Asia, concerns have been raised about CPCFs nutritional quality, labelling practices and the strength and scope of national CPCF regulations. The Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods in Southeast Asia (COMMIT), composed of UN agencies and civil society organizations, was formed to assess the nutrient gap in the diets of young children and the consumer, product and policy landscapes for CPCFs in seven Southeast Asian countries. Results from a nutrient gap assessment indicate that the diets of children aged 6–23 months are suboptimal and deficient in micronutrients. A consumer survey revealed that caretakers commonly use CPCFs, are conscious of the importance of nutrition and are influenced by label claims. Results from a CPCF benchmarking showed that many products sold in Southeast Asia contained added sugar or sweeteners, had a high total sugar and/or high sodium content and that no CPCF product adhered to all recommended labelling practices. Further, a legal review of national binding legal measures relevant to CPCFs showed minimal alignment with available global guidance. Urgent actions are necessary to strengthen national regulations related to CPCF nutrient composition and labelling practices. To speed progress, COMMIT developed a compendium of existing standards and global guidance to help countries align their national regulations with CPCF composition, labelling and production recommendations. Advocacy to garner public support for new or improved CPCF regulations, as well as strong government monitoring and enforcement of regulations, is crucial to support efforts to safeguard and improve the diets of older infants and young children in Southeast Asia.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium,provided the original work is properly cited.© 2023 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
Keywords: | Humans; Micronutrients; Diet; Nutritional Status; Nutritive Value; Food Labeling; Child; Child, Preschool; Infant; Asia, Southeastern; Sugars |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Food Science and Nutrition (Leeds) > FSN Nutrition and Public Health (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 05 Jan 2024 11:28 |
Last Modified: | 05 Jan 2024 11:28 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13604 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/mcn.13604 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:207212 |