OTTAWA – A pre-packaged Gerber pasta meal marketed for toddlers contains the same amount of sodium as two medium-sized orders of french fries from McDonald’s, says the Canadian Stroke Network.
The sodium content of the Gerber Graduates Lil’ Entrees Chicken & Pasta Wheel Pick Ups meal has prompted the stroke network, along with Canada’s Advanced Foods & Materials Network, to give the Gerber product the Salt Lick Award – an annual distinction handed out to food items with notably high levels of sodium.
The meal in question contains 550 mg of sodium, which is more than half of the 1,000 mg of sodium a toddler needs to consume in a day, said Dr. Kevin Willis.
"A large amount of sodium, such as the amount delivered by this meal, is a real concern in a child that small," said Willis, who runs the salt awareness campaign for the Canadian Stroke Network.
A diet high in salt can lead to increases in blood pressure, which is a risk factor for stroke, kidney disease, heart disease and dementia.
Obesity, asthma, stomach cancer and osteoporosis also have links to high salt intake.
Although toddlers don’t need any more than 1,000 mg of sodium a day, Willis said, many end up consuming closer to 2,000 mg.
"We also know that high sodium exposure damages the blood vessels over time, so clearly, the earlier you start in life, the more that damage accumulates and that likely translates into earlier onset of these vascular diseases," he said.
Because products like the Gerber meal are marketed as meals tailored to the needs of toddlers and young children, consumers place an inordinate amount of trust in them, Willis said.
"I think people perhaps don’t pay much attention to the ingredients and the sodium and fat contents of these types of food because they assume that if they’re targeted to children that age that they’re going to be healthy choices and somebody is looking out for that and paying attention," he said
Food companies are "playing into adult conceptions of a meal," said Charlene Elliott, an associate professor of communications at the University of Calgary. "It would not be conceivable to sell an entree to a toddler five years ago."
Elliott is conducting research on the marketing of children’s food and charting the development of toddler and baby food as a distinct category. "There is a presumed halo effect around baby and toddler foods because people expect these foods to be held to a higher standard," she said.
The popularity of the pre-packaged meals may be due to a desire from parents for convenience, but that isn’t an excuse for such high levels of sodium, Willis said.
"I think perhaps it is convenience, but there really is no need for these large amounts of sodium," Willis said.
"Some products on the market, popular brands, have no added sodium and it’s very hard to argue that by one-year-old, the child has really developed a preference for these salty types of meals and is demanding this type of food."
Nestle Canada Inc., which owns Gerber, said the packaging on the Lil’ Entrees "overstate the sodium level, as they include the sodium contained in the brine (liquid) surrounding the vegetables which is not consumed."
"This is currently being corrected and new packaging will be on-shelf in July reflecting the sodium levels for the consumed food only. The brine accounts for between 19 to 33 (per cent) of the sodium level depending on the recipe," said Dr. Andrea Papamandjaris, in a written statement.
"Beyond this clarification we are actively working to decrease the sodium level in our six Gerber Lil’ Entrees products and we assure our consumers that this is receiving the highest priority."
Canadians seem accustomed to consuming higher than necessary amounts of salt.
Data published last year by the World Action on Salt and Health said that many food items sold in Canada contained more sodium than the same products sold elsewhere.
But the argument that Canadians prefer salty food and won’t eat low-sodium alternatives holds little weight, Willis said.
"If sodium consumption is high, that your taste for sodium is high, this is something that can be changed really quite quickly," he said. "Studies have shown that if you cut back on your sodium, it really only takes a matter of a few weeks before your taste buds readjust to the lower level of sodium."
FACT BOX
Other toddler meals with high sodium levels:
– Parent’s Choice (Walmart brand) My Little Meals Shells & Cheese with Frankfurters – 520 mg per serving
– Gerber Graduates for Toddlers Lil’ Entrees Macaroni and Cheese with peas and carrots – 520 mg per serving
– Heinz Toddler Vegetables, Beef & Pasta Casserole – 470 mg per jar
– Heinz Toddler Beef Stroganoff – 420 mg per jar
Source: Canadian Stroke Network
Comments