Two months ago, a report from UNICEF Nederland made the news. The report stated that most of the supermarket food products targeted at children did not fulfil the recommendations of the Dutch nutrition guide (otherwise known as the “Schijf van Vijf” or “Wheel of Five” in English). Most of this information is not available in English, so Kennis-Smaken has decided to provide here a detailed summary of the findings from this report.
What was the objective of the report?
The objective of UNICEF´s report was to provide Dutch supermarkets with some insights on the positive and negative impact that they can have on the health and nutrition of children in the Netherlands and to guide them on the different steps that they can take to protect children´s health.
What is the Schijf van Vijf?
The Schijf van Vijf is the Dutch nutrition guide for healthy eating. It is based on the latest scientific findings about what is good for your health (e.g. what is good for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and cancer). Most countries have nutrition guides (e.g. My Plate in the USA, El Plato del Buen Comer in Mexico). For the report, UNICEF used the recommendations stated in the Schijf van Vijf as a basis to test the products in the supermarkets.
What are the Dutch supermarkets doing right?
Some actions of Dutch supermarkets that are on the right track to helping children include:
-Known brand products marketed to children are not placed at eye level (Plus supermarket).
-Healthy products that fall within the Dutch nutrition guide “Schijf van Vijf” are being marketed/promoted (Jumbo, Lidl, Aldi).
-The consumption of healthy foods is being promoted by giving free fruit to children or organising special games (AH, Coop, Jumbo).
-A minimum drinking age for energy drinks is set in some supermarkets (Aldi and Lidl: they set a minimum age of 14 years old).
In which points do the supermarkets need to improve?
UNICEF found some worrisome actions of Dutch supermarkets that can have a negative impact on children´s nutrition and health:
Supermarkets have no limitations when it comes to promoting unhealthy products to children. In more than half of the supermarket promotion magazines, there was at least one product on discount/promotion that did not fall within the Schijf van Vijf.
There are a lot of products specifically marketed to children. These products have cartoons, drawings, or the words “baby” or “children” written on them. This mainly happens with the well-known and established brands (also called A-merken). The house brands (huismerken) do not have this type of marketing but are strategically placed next to the well-known brands.
Less than 30% of the products offered in the supermarkets follow the recommendations of the Schijf van Vijf. This means that parents and children are most likely consuming products that make healthy eating more difficult.
Which types of food products were analysed and what was found for each?
The types of products that UNICEF looked at for this report were:
Food products for babies and toddlers
In this category they looked at:
Baby cereals: 48 out of 60 (80%) did not fulfil the Schijf van Vijf criteria.
Fruit pouches, glass jars, cartons/boxes: 147 out of 170 (86%) did not fulfil the Schijf van Vijf criteria.
Meals in glass jars: At least 55% did not fulfil the Schijf van Vijf criteria.
Snacks (baby cookies, waffles, chips, fruit puree with cookies): In reality, packaged snacks are not recommended by the Schijf van Vijf (with the exception of dry fruits such as raisins). However, UNICEF found that these types of products are still sold in the baby and toddler category group at supermarkets.
Breakfast cereals for children
For this category, UNICEF looked at all cereal products with the word “children” added in the name, products shown on supermarket websites under the “children cereal” categories, and cereals with drawings or cartoons targeted at children. From the 39 products analysed, only 1 fulfilled the Schijf van Vijf criteria. This means an outstanding 97% did not fulfil the criteria.
Bread spreads for children
For this category UNICEF looked at sweet and savoury bread spreads for children. These included sausage spreads (including the vegetarian options), cheese spreads, jam and fruit spreads, apple and pear treacle (appel-peer stroop), peanut butter, hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles), fruitslag (fruit sprinkles), chocolate flakes (chocolade vlokken), coconut slices (kokosbrood), “muisjes” (round-shaped-sugar-coated aniseed sprinkles) either whole or powdered, and “pastas” (chocolate spread, hazelnut spread, among others). From the 865 products analysed, 829 (96%) did not fulfil the Schijf van Vijf criteria.
Desserts
UNICEF looked at the products found in the “children desserts” category on supermarket websites. From the products analysed (40), none fulfilled the Schijf van Vijf criteria.
Children drinks
UNICEF looked at all drink boxes from juices (except “pure” juices), multivitamin drinks, yogurt drinks, chocolate milk and bottles with typical drinks for children (for example, soda drinks as Kindercola). From the 148 products found, 137 (93%) did not fulfil the Schijf van Vijf criteria.
Cookies "to go"
UNICEF looked at cookies and bars that are individually packaged and that are easy for children to bring outside of home (for example, to school). These included granola, fruit and cereal bars, spice cake (ontbijtkoek), fruit biscuits and cookies (melkbiscuits). Cookies are not part of the Schijf van Vijf but fall within the group of “extras” that are allowed by the Nutrition Institute of the Netherlands (Voedingscentrum) to be consumed either as a dagkeuze (daily but no more than 3-5 times in a day) or as a “weekkeuze” (week choice: 1-3 times in one week). Only 5% of the products analysed are a good dagkeuze/daily choice. The other 95% should not be consumed daily (but can be consumed 1-3 times a week).
Unfortunately, UNICEF does not provide a list with the name of the products that follow the recommended guidelines. This is because UNICEF aimed to give a general outlook of the what is happening at the moment instead of just individual scores. Supermarkets, retailers, manufacturers and the government are working into improving the current situation.
Would you like to learn how to read food labels, spot products high in sugar, salt and fat among other tools to make healthy choices in the supermarket? You can follow our class “A parents´ guide to healthy shopping”!
Interested in UNICEF´s report? You can find it here: https://www.unicef.nl/files/UNI_Onderzoeksrapport_Deverleidingnaarongezond.pdf
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