An audit of infant foods sold at 21 grocery stores in Texas found that four out of five products were ultra-processed and 49% of all products did not meet at least one nutritional standard set by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Nutritional and Promotional Profile Model (NPPM) for commercial foods for children 6 to 36 months of age.
The findings come as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers new guidelines for front-of-pack nutrition labeling, health claims, and the marketing of children’s foods. The United States currently does not require warning labels on foods high in sugar, sodium, or calories.
Many parents may believe that products sold in the infant/toddler food section of the grocery store must meet certain nutritional standards. Our findings highlight that half of the infant foods available at local grocery stores are not. Therefore, parents should carefully check labels and ingredients to determine the nutritional content and level of processing of products intended for young children. ”
Erin A. Hudson, J.D., ASN Science Policy Fellow and PhD Candidate, University of Texas at Austin
Hudson plans to present the findings at NUTRITION 2026, the American Academy of Nutrition’s flagship annual meeting, to be held July 25-28 in National Harbor, Maryland, outside Washington, D.C. Hudson conducted the research with Dr. Marissa Bergermaster, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
The foods that children consume in early childhood shape taste preferences and eating habits that last throughout childhood, which can impact long-term health. Excess sugar consumption, in particular, is well known to be harmful to young children’s health. According to the study, highly processed products were significantly more likely to contain more sugar than less processed products.
Researchers photographed the infant and toddler aisles of 21 grocery stores in Austin, Texas, and analyzed the nutritional content of products marketed as suitable for children ages 6 to 36 months. Infant milk, beverages, and purees, which are commonly introduced as first foods, were excluded from the sample.
Of the 2,783 products analyzed, 81% were classified as ultra-processed according to the Nova classification system. 17% of products did not meet WHO recommended nutrient content levels for sugar, 25% were unsatisfactory for sodium, 11% were unsatisfactory for fat content and 12% were unsatisfactory for energy density. Examples of foods that exceed these recommendations include fruit pouches (high in sugar), oat bars (high in sugar and calories), macaroni and cheese (high in sodium and fat), turkey sticks (high in sodium and fat), cheese puffs (high in calories), and peanut butter puffs (high in sodium, fat, and calories).
Several previous studies have linked ultra-processed foods with poor health, regardless of their nutrient content, but it remains unclear which aspects of ultra-processed foods contribute to such outcomes. The researchers noted that the high fat and calorie content of some less-processed products primarily reflects whole-food ingredients, such as peanuts and beef, that provide fat content while being highly nutritious. In contrast, ultra-processed infant foods are often high in sugar without any additional nutritional benefits, strengthening the case for limiting the number of products in this category consumed by young children.
“During these critical early stages of development, most parents strive to feed their children healthy meals, but the infant foods available in grocery stores can make this difficult,” Hudson said. “Putting warning labels on products that exceed nutritional standards could help parents navigate the infant food environment and encourage manufacturers to reformulate these products.”
The researchers noted that their methodology focuses only on packaged products that parents see on grocery store shelves and does not necessarily capture the full range of what parents end up feeding their young children.
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American Academy of Nutrition
