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Nutritional Content and Ingredients of Infant and Toddler Food Pouches Compared to Traditional Packaging (P11-081-19).

Objectives
Infant and toddler food (ITF) pouches have increased in popularity. Here, we compare the macronutrient contents and ingredients of ITFs packaged in pouches versus jars/packs and other packages.


Methods
Company websites (n = 19) were used to create a database of commercial ITFs containing vegetables (n = 517) sold in the United States in early 2017. The following information was recorded and examined for this analysis: package type (pouch, jar/pack, or "other" - e.g., tub, tray), total calories (kcal), carbohydrates (CHO; g), fiber (g), and total sugars (g) per serving. Ingredient lists were used to identify the presence of vegetables, fruits, meats, and grains and/or dairy. Frequencies were calculated to determine the percentage of products by package type. Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) were used to compare the macronutrient contents among package types. A chi-square analysis tested the association between package types and ingredients included.


Results
ITFs containing vegetables were most commonly packaged in pouches (50.0%), followed by "other" packages (25.4%) and jars/packs (24.6%). ANOVAs showed significant differences among package types for kcal, F(2, 545) = 4.61, P = .01, CHO, F(2, 545) = 40.76, P < .001, fiber, F(2, 545) = 42.48, P < .001, and total sugars per serving, F(2, 545) = 109.19, P < .001). Post-hoc tests revealed that pouches contained significantly more kcal per serving than products in "other" packages and more CHO and total sugars per serving than jars/packs or "other" packages (p's < .001). Pouches contained more fiber than products in "other" packages (P < .001), but did not differ from products in jars/packs on fiber content (P = .49). An association was observed between package type and ingredients (χ2 = 186.96, P < .001). Jars/packs were more likely to contain single [standardized residual (SR) = 7.0] or multi-vegetables (SR = 3.8), whereas pouches were more likely to contain vegetable/fruit blends (SR = 3.5).


Conclusions
Half of ITFs containing vegetables for infants/toddlers in the U.S. are packaged in pouches. These products contain vegetable/fruit blends and more sugars, but not more fiber, than similar offerings in jars/packs. Pouches are popular, widely available, and convenient, but may not represent the vegetable profiles and nutritional qualities that parents believe they are buying for their children.


Funding Sources
None.