This study has demonstrated that toddler specific foods and milks cost more and do not represent value for money or good nutrition. There is limited research on consumption of toddler specific packaged foods and toddler milks in Australia and globally. The evidence that does exist includes two Australian studies on children aged 12-24 months [36, 37]. These studies reported that consumption of packaged foods is common with an average of 60% of toddlers consuming commercial sweet foods. The studies also reported 48% of toddlers consumed yoghurt (plain, flavoured and custard), 20% consumed dried fruit, 23% consumed sugar and sugary products and 35% consumed discretionary cereal products daily (based on 24 h recall and food-frequency questionnaires). Additional Australian research reported around 36% of toddlers consume toddler milk daily [16], and Australian national health survey data has also shown that close to 40% of toddlers aged 2-3 years consume yoghurt daily and close to 50% consume confectionery and cereal/nut/fruit/seed bars daily [38].
Putting the above consumption patterns into context with our results, it can be deduced that if a toddler were to consume the toddler-specific products daily, the cost would be much higher than if the ‘regular’ version of the product was purchased. This equates to a larger outlay of money (e.g. $40 extra per month for one 100 g toddler-specific yoghurt daily, and $13 more per month for one 200 mL serve of toddler milk), and with the cost of living increasing and wage growth stagnating [31], this impacts the household budget, and may become a social equity issue.
The same calculations can be made for all the toddler-specific products, and all lead to the same conclusion: toddler-specific packaged foods cost significantly more than ‘regular’ foods. Looking at the nutrition provided from the toddler-specific foods, these vary greatly across the product categories. As an example, toddler-specific rice crackers had on average per 100 g, lower mean protein, carbohydrate and sodium than the ‘regular’ rice crackers, but they also contained on average per 100 g, higher mean total fat, saturated fat, total sugar and energy. So, while a toddler rice cracker may seem like it is healthier as it is lower in sodium, it is a trade-off, as it is higher in sugar. Low sodium ‘regular’ rice crackers (which are classified as core in the Australian Dietary Guidelines) are present in small numbers in the Australian retail market, and they do have lower levels of sodium and sugar per serve and per 100 g than even a toddler-specific rice cracker, and may be the most suitable option for a rice-based snack for all ages, but would still not be recommended if they are UP.
Following on from this, if the example of toddler milk is examined in more detail, if a toddler milk was consumed daily, the toddler milks will ultimately provide more micronutrients than ‘regular’ milk due to fortification, but are an UPF. However, if the NIP nutrients mandated to be present are focused on, toddler milks are actually higher in carbohydrate, total sugar and energy per 100 mL than ‘regular’ milks, and the higher levels of these nutrients in the toddler milk are not required or recommended for healthy toddlers, as stated by the World Health Organization [39, 40] and the National Health and Medical Research Council [41].
A strength of this study is that the products included represent a relatively complete audit of all toddler-specific products on the market at the time and ‘regular’ foods were matched as closely as possible and are from the two leading supermarket outlets in Australia. A limitation of this study is that toddler-specific food consumption data is scarce however, we have included the most relevant data where possible. This indicates that consumption is considerable and that therefore there is a likely impact to food budgets if these products are chosen over regular foods. We are also not suggesting that the regular food alternatives are healthier choices than the toddler specific foods – indeed many are ULP and discretionary themselves. However, the point remains that a specific market has been created for toddler foods that demand a higher price premium.