Almost a quarter of popular branded baby foods sold in UK supermarkets still contain excessive amounts of sugar, analysis suggests, a year after the government introduced voluntary industry guidelines.

In August 2025 the government gave baby food manufacturers 18 months to reduce the sugar and salt content of their products, stop marketing snacks to infants under 12 months, and address misleading and inaccurate labelling that makes some infant foods appear healthier than they actually are.

An analysis of 224 branded infant foods and snacks has found that, a year on, more than half (58%) breached at least one of the nine guidelines and that a quarter of all products breached two or more.

Nora Cavani, the chief executive and co-founder of Alba Health, a gut health company that conducted the analysis, said: “Parents are not failing their children – they are being misled. Products that contain more sugar than a child should consume in a day are sold under the banner of health and nature. A year on from the guidelines’ introduction, the data shows voluntary standards haven’t worked.”

The foods studied included purees, breakfast, main meals, desserts, snacks and finger foods made by nine of the UK’s leading brands: Ella’s Kitchen, Heinz, Organix, HiPP, Kiddylicious, Little Freddie, Piccolo, Aptamil and Cow & Gate.

Of these, 51 (23%) contained too much sugar, including 52% of Kiddylicious’s products, 28% of Piccolo’s, 27% of Heinz’s, and 24% of Little Freddie products. In the case of five products, more than 80% of the total calories were from sugar, including Organix raisins, which contained 66g sugar per 100g (86.6% kcal from sugars) and Kiddylicious apple fruit wriggles, which contained 70g sugar per 100g (85.6% sugars).

The NHS recommends that babies under one consume less than 1g of salt a day, but the analysis found about 6% of foods – 14 products – breached those limits, with Heinz spaghetti bolognese pouches containing 0.27g of salt, more than a quarter of an infant’s entire daily allowance in one meal. In all, 19% of Kiddylicious’s products, 18% of HiPP’s, 13% of Heinz’s and 6% of Cow & Gate’s breached OHID’s salt and sodium guidelines.

Labelling and marketing breaches were found in 28% of products, including 31 snacks marketed at children as young as six months old, while labels on others made misleading health claims.

Experts said the data showed that the voluntary approach had failed. Prof Steve Turner, the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “Paediatricians have long raised concerns about the high levels of salt and sugar in some infant and baby foods, and the impact this can have on children’s long-term health, including obesity and poor oral health.

“Ensuring baby food is nutritious, and does not encourage children to develop a preference for sugary foods later in life, is essential. We are clear that only mandatory nutritional standards and regulation of these products will provide the protection babies and children need.”

Sonia Pombo, the head of research and impact at Action on Salt and Sugar, said it was striking that there were problems among brands that positioned themselves as organic or healthy. “Parents should be able to trust that the name and imagery on the front of a pack accurately reflect what is inside, yet when a product is promoted using an appealing fruit or vegetable despite not being the main ingredient, it risks misleading parents,” she said.

“With only six months until the February 2027 compliance deadline, voluntary action is clearly not delivering quickly enough. If the government is serious about protecting babies and young children, these guidelines should be made mandatory and properly enforced.”

A spokesperson for the British Specialist Nutrition Association, which represents the infant food industry, said: “BSNA members welcomed the government’s guidance and have been fully engaged with OHID throughout its development. Significant progress has already been made, including reducing sugar and increasing vegetable content. Ultimately reformulation takes time, and the government recognised this when setting a deadline of February 2027 for compliance.

“Parents can feel confident that members are on track to meet the guidance, offering convenient, nutritious choices that support the realities of modern family life.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We want every child to have the best possible start in life, and that includes making sure the food available to babies and young children is as healthy as possible. We have already taken action, publishing targets to reduce sugar and salt and introducing guidelines to improve labelling in baby food and drink, with industry given until February 2027 to make these changes.

“We will continue to work with industry to make sure parents can make healthy choices for their children.”