Children's milk products are often more of a candy

Kids yogurt and milk drinks usually contain too much sugar and fat

01/29/2015

Colorful pictures of current cartoon characters, toy gifts or bright colors on the packaging: The range of food especially for children is growing and providing steadily growing sales. But as a test of the Austrian Association for Consumer Information (VKI) shows, these special products are often anything but healthy, but contain too much sugar and fat.

The market for children's food is expanding more and more
Be it dairy products, fruit jars or children's tea: the market for children's food is lucrative and is expanding ever more strongly. Children and many parents are enthusiastic about the specially designed products, which are elaborately packaged, pictures of current series or small toys „extra“ attract attention and be marketed with targeted advertising. While the products may seem attractive at first glance, the ingredients are in many cases anything but appealing. This shows a current test of the Austrian association for consumer information (VKI), which over its magazine „Consumer "among other product and service tests and informs consumers on special topics.

Verein für Konsumenteninformation tests 27 dairy products for children
For the test, the VKI had 27 children's dairy products tested, including e.g. the „Bee Maja Drink Strawberry“ from Bauer or the „Yoghurt corner Minis Benjamin Blümchen in the zoo“ from Müller. An interesting field, because dairy products are generally regarded as healthy and nutritious in many people. Accordingly, advertisements often suggest that yoghurts, cheeses, cottage cheese, etc. that are specially geared to children will support a healthy child-friendly diet. In addition, the products are often enriched with additional minerals and vitamins - which increases the buying stimulus and often provides the parents with a calming feeling, the child „to do something good“.

Many products are "more like sweets"
But far from it, because instead many of the specially marketed as children's milk products would be due to the nutrient composition "more likely to belong to the sweets," the association told the news agency „APA“. The often artificially added vitamins and minerals could make the high-sugar and fat-containing products no healthy food, because even 250ml of milk bring the child more calcium than most enriched children's milk products per serving, the experts said.

Sugar limit often already reached with a children's milk product
The nutritional needs should therefore be covered by a balanced and varied diet - which is usually easily possible. A rule of thumb here is that a maximum of ten percent of the calories consumed daily should come from sugar-containing. Not so easy, because starting from the average daily requirement of a child (1,425 kcal), this limit is often already reached with a single yogurt or milk drink. „Desserts or snacks made from traditional dairy products and fresh fruit are definitely better and cheaper, "said the consumer advocates further to the „APA“. (No)