Alete: False nutrition alert?
German baby food manufacturer Alete’s baby biscuits, or Kinderkeks, are up for a nomination for targeting the product, which contains one quarter sugar, to babies.
The on-pack advice tells parents the biscuits are suitable from six months onwards, by soaking them in milk or fruit juice.
“Alete’s advertisement is outstandingly brazen – that’s why we nominated its product. To advertise a cookie with 25% sugar as ‘suitable for babies‘ is highly misleading,“ Unger said.
Responding to the nomination, Alete told Foodwatch its cookie, which contains 25% sugar, would be in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations on sugar intake.
“The opposite is true,“ Unger told FoodNavigator. “The WHO recommendation referred to by Alete only refers to children and adults – not to babies. For the healthy nutrition of babies, the WHO recommends explicitly: no added sugar at all.“
However, Unger admits that competitor products do not fare much better. Compared with other baby food brands, Alete‘s cookies contain “slightly more sugar“, she said.
© Foodwatch