Organix urges baby food makers to label transparency and marketing standards

The company is concerned about brands misleading shoppers into believing their products are a nutritious alternative while containing unnecessary levels of salt and saturated fats

Organix, a UK brand dedicated to baby and toddler snacking, has called on the industry to implement higher standards around manufacturing and marketing of foods designed to help parents feed their children.

“Some, including one leading brand in the market, are misleading shoppers into believing their products are a nutritious alternative, whilst containing unnecessary levels of salt and saturated fats, sometimes at the same levels found in adult snacks,” the company said in a statement.

Organix currently has a 39% market share in the baby finger food and toddler snack category across the UK.

Stephen Stones, head of technical and sustainability at Organix, commented: “We will continue to relentlessly challenge the rest of the food industry to take responsibility for the quality of children’s food.

“We want to make sure that all children’s food is made to the same high standards that we set for ourselves at Organix with our No Junk Promise.” 

Organix made the announcement alongside the release of its latest sustainability report, ‘Making Things Better’.

The document gives the public an update on the progress against its four key sustainability pillars: food you can trust; making change happen; putting people first; and caring for tomorrow. 

Sustainable business

Organix, which was founded more than 28 years ago, has taken sustainable standards to its core. The company believes a fully sustainable business approach is critical to delivering long term benefits for all stakeholders.

The ethos is reflected in the company being a 100% organic business, supporting organic farming, and the value they put on their people. 

Stones said Organix has been working with the British Specialist Nutrition Association and a group of our peers with an ambition to develop new national standards for baby and toddler food.

“We shared our insights and expertise with Public Health England who is developing new nutritional targets for food aimed at children under three, we expect this to launch later in 2020,” he added. 

Stones said the company hopes these targets will help create a level playing field in our market and that using natural ingredients, such as fruit and vegetables will still be seen as the best alternative to syrups and table sugar to flavour.

Stones continued: “We have also been talking to the major UK retailers about ‘protecting the baby aisle’, helping them through the sharing of our ‘Food Leadership’ principles to make informed decisions about the quality of the food they stock.”

“This generation of leaders and the businesses that we work in need to deliver decisive climate action. And the food industry is right at the heart of this”

Philipp von Jagow, managing director at Organix

Organix said the company and its supply partners continue to provide the expertise and support to continue challenging the status quo in maintaining their campaigning work to give children the best start in life.  

“With 2020 we have entered what many people are calling ‘the decade of delivery’,” said Philipp von Jagow, managing director at Organix. “This generation of leaders and the businesses that we work in need to deliver decisive climate action. And the food industry is right at the heart of this.”

Such sustainable actions, Von Jagow argued, are the reasons why Organix champion 100% organic farming and food production. 

“We believe it’s better both for people’s health and our planet, and that it will continue to be a strong and growing market. If we can do this, so can our competitors. We will continue to hold them to account when they fall short of what we believe is best in practice to protect our little ones precious palates,” he concluded.