Consumer group forces Heinz to stop marketing its sugary biscotti for babies as “healthy snacks”

The case was brought by health campaigners against the ‘Heinz for Baby’ website, which described the golden multigrain, chocolate and organic varieties of biscotti as "an ideal healthy snack for babies 7+ months old”.  These products have added sugar as their second ingredient and, with 24g or more sugar per 100g, would be classified as ‘high’ in sugar and coded red for sugar under the government's recommended front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme.

Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, commented:

“Heinz has been caught red-handed trying to mislead parents into believing sugary biscotti are an appropriate and healthy food to give to babies. Heinz has disregarded NHS advice on nutrition and snacking for under 1s, as well as the advertising rules themselves. So it was no surprise that when we asked the Advertising Standards Authority to investigate, Heinz backed down and agreed to change its wording." 

“However, there is little cause to celebrate yet, as Heinz’s changes are merely cosmetic. They are now simply using different wording to imply it is okay to give the sugary biscotti to babies in-between meals. It is unclear whether the wording is even going to be changed on the packaging itself.  Moreover, Heinz has announced no measures to reduce the actual sugar content in their biscotti.” 

“This case reveals the limits of existing advertising rules, the relative powerlessness of the regulator, and the impunity of Heinz to continue spending millions promoting sugary baby foods. That may be a satisfactory resolution for the ASA, but it is not for us, or the many health professionals, early years specialists and parents’ groups who support our campaign. We urge the Government robustly to address marketing and reformulation of less healthy food and drink in their forthcoming Childhood Obesity Strategy.”

Media contact:

For further information, and for interviews, please contact Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator of Children's Food Campaign, on malcolm@sustainweb.org / 07733 322148 / 0203 5596 777

Notes:

1. The complaint about HJ Heinz Foods UK Ltd ‘Heinz Baby’ website www.heinzbaby.co.uk  submitted by Children’s Food Campaign to the Advertising Standards Authority on 23 June 2015. ASA case ref: A15-306703. The complaint has been ‘informally resolved’ by the ASA, and details confirming this are published on the ASA’s website on Wednesday 9 September 2015.

2. The complaint specifically referenced the golden multigrain, chocolate and organic varieties of biscotti as "an ideal healthy snack for babies 7+ months old”.  These products have 24g, 27g and 28g of sugar per 100g respectively. Several other varieties of Heinz biscotti are only marginally lower in sugar, and fall just below the threshold of being classified as ‘high sugar’. Screenshots of the original webpages are available from the Children’s Food Campaign on request.

3. In a letter to the Children’s Food Campaign, the Advertising Standards Authority confirmed that Heinz had agreed to amend their advertising of ‘Heinz for baby’ biscotti, including removing references to “healthy snack” or “snack” from their marketing communications; removing the health claim for thiamine, and amending the health claim for iron. A copy of this letter is available from Children’s Food Campaign on request.

4. Heinz Baby website has now been amended.  Instead of snacks, the biscotti are now referred to in big letters on the website as “finger foods” and “little nibbles to keep them going” – which is not much different than before, and conveys a rather different message than the ‘occasional treats’ that Heinz elsewhere admits that the biscotti should play in babies’ diets.

Heinz’s own nutritional advice, in a much less prominent place on its website, says: “Biscuits and cakes can encourage a sweet tooth and have little nutritional value. So you might prefer just to offer small quantities as an occasional treat. Try Heinz Organic Biscotti – with no artificial colours or flavours and a gentle crunch that softens in little mouths.” 

5. NHS nutrition advice

Under the NHS's own advice on nutrition for under 1s, ‘healthy eating’ is described as: "It's best not to give them [babies] foods or drinks with added sugar, or salty or fatty food either, as this will make them more likely to want them as they get older."

The NHS advice specifically mentions sugar:  "Your baby doesn’t need sugar. By avoiding sugary snacks and drinks, you'll help to prevent tooth decay."

The NHS advice also warns about snacks between meals: "To help keep your child’s teeth healthy (in addition to brushing their teeth regularly and visiting the dentist), limit the amount of added sugar they have. Added sugars are found in fizzy drinks, juice drinks, sweets, cakes and jam. If you give children these kinds of foods and drinks, give them with meals and not as snacks between meals.”