Parents and carers across England will be able to shop for healthier food for their children with new guidelines.
Healthier food for children thanks to new guidelines for manufacturers to reduce sugar and salt in commercial baby foods
Labelling to be made clearer to help parents shop easier and make informed choices about what they feed their children
Reforms part of Plan for Change to tackle concerning levels of sugar found in snack foods for young children
Parents and carers across England will be able to shop for healthier food for their children with new guidelines for commercial baby food to reduce salt and sugar, along with clearer labelling to help parents make informed decisions.
Baby food manufacturers will be given 18 months to reduce sugar and salt levels in baby foods aimed at children up to 36 months old.
Businesses will be challenged to change the recipes for their products to reduce levels of salt and sugar, without the use of sweeteners as these are not permitted for use in commercial baby food. And clearer labelling guidelines will be introduced to help parents understand more easily what food they are buying for their children.
This government is committed to taking a different approach, to ensure it is on the side of parents and children so that babies are given the best start in life. This means going further and faster to support parents to make easier, healthier choices that will have benefits in the long term, easing pressures on parents without them having to change the products they usually buy.
Obesity costs the NHS £11.4 billion a year and is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and obesity rates have doubled since the 1990s - including among children. High sugar intake in children's diets is a significant factor contributing to high rates of childhood obesity in the UK, which is among the highest in Western Europe
For too long, it's been difficult for parents to work out what is healthy and what's not because of confusing labelling. But this government is steadfast in its mission to make it easier than ever before to make better, more informed choices that work better around the busy lives of parents, where the new guidelines will help to put an end to the burden being on parents to sift through different products to choose the healthier ones.
The move comes as government hits the ground running in delivering its 10 Year Plan, which set out a swathe of preventative measures for children's healthcare including more support from health visitors, better-quality early childhood developmental checks and a drive to tackle childhood obesity.
Public Health Minister Ashley Dalton said:
Every child deserves a healthy, happy start to life. But babies' development is being harmed by poor diets and unhealthy food, holding them back and piling up pressure on the NHS.
Too often, parents are bombarded with confusing labels, disguising unhealthy foods packed with hidden sugars and salt.
Our Plan for Change will tackle this, giving parents the information they need and providing children with good nutritious food.
I'm determined to make it far easier for parents to keep their children healthy. From working with influencers to get children exercising, to banning junk food ads near schools - our 10 Year Health Plan will help kids today be part of the healthiest generation of children ever.
The guidelines will also tackle misleading labelling that often conflicts with official feeding advice.
For example, some products labelled as snacks for babies from seven months onwards directly contradict government recommendations that children aged 6-12 months do not need snacks between meals, only milk.
Manufacturers will also be told to cease using misleading marketing claims that make products appear healthier than they are - for example, products with labels such as "contains no nasties" - when products may be high in sugar.
The move comes as data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey published in June shows that more than two-thirds of children aged 18 months to 3 years are eating too much sugar, while over a fifth of children aged 4 to 5 years are overweight or living with obesity in England.
This excessive sugar intake increases the risk of weight gain and dental decay in the crucial early years of development.
Charlotte Stirling-Reed, The Baby & Child Nutritionist, said:
Feeding babies shouldn't be a guessing game. As a child nutritionist, I've long called for clearer, evidence-based guidelines around the nutritional quality of commercial baby foods-and I'm genuinely encouraged to see these new government plans taking shape.
Parents deserve transparency and trust when it comes to feeding their children. These updates-less sugar and salt, clearer labelling-are a step towards empowering families and supporting children's health from the very start of life.
It's also about fairness: giving brands a solid framework while ensuring that commercial baby foods actually align with Government infant feeding guidelines. As someone who works with families every day, I know how much this clarity will mean.
Dr. Vicky Sibson, Director, First Steps Nutrition, said:
These voluntary guidelines are a first step towards clamping down on the longstanding and widespread poor practices of the baby food industry. These practices mislead parents and undermine their best efforts to feed their babies and toddlers healthy, age-appropriate diets.
We welcome Government plans to evaluate industry compliance in 18 months and fully support their commitment to taking 'further measures' in the event that this voluntary measure fails. Strengthened legislation has public backing.
Maxine Palmer, Head of Service Development, National Childbirth Trust, said:
Every parent should be able to make informed decisions about what they feed their baby, free from commercial influence and often misleading labelling. So NCT welcomes this step toward giving parents clearer, more accessible health information.
Introducing solids from 6 months, alongside continued breastfeeding or milk feeds, is an important milestone.
We urge manufacturers to implement the guidance on labelling and reducing sugar and salt content in baby foods, and for parents to continue to seek support and information from trusted sources when deciding what feeding journey is right for them.
Dr Hannah Brisden, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Food Foundation, said:
Giving every child the best start in life begins with good nutrition. Today's announcement on commercial baby foods highlights the need to protect families from aggressive marketing and end misleading claims on sugary products. Our research found up to 43 claims on a single baby snack, despite many being high in sugar.
The industry has been warned to clean up their act with voluntary guidelines, but to truly protect children, mandatory standards are needed. We urge the government to monitor progress closely and be ready to step in if companies don't act.
Through the Plan for Change, the government aims to give every child the best start in life, which includes an extra £57 million for Start for Life services, helping expectant and new mothers with their infants, as well as expanded school-based nurseries and free breakfast clubs.
As part of our 10 Year Health Plan, the government launched a world-first partnership with food retailers and manufacturers to set a new healthy food standard, helping to make the average shopping basket healthier for families. If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day - the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy drink - obesity would be halved.
The government has also joined forces with fitness coach Joe Wicks to help get children active over the summer through the launch of a new animated series, Activate, available via YouTube.
From January 2026, adverts for less healthy products will be banned from being shown on TV before 9pm or at any time online, reducing children's excessive exposure to many foods high in fat, sugar or salt. The government has also granted more powers to local authorities to ban fast food shops from setting up outside of schools.
