Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of infant and baby products with high sugar content.

Data shows that babies and young children are eating too much sugar, and that some commercial baby foods, particularly finger foods, contain added sugar or high sugar ingredients. This does not align with the recommendations from the independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, that in diets of children aged one to five years old, foods, including snacks that are high in free sugars, should be limited, and that commercially manufactured foods and drinks marketed specifically for infants and young children are not needed to meet nutrition requirements.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest next generation ever. We will provide an update on the publication of voluntary industry guidelines to limit the levels of sugar, and salt, in commercially available baby food and drink in due course.