Food Marketing & Technology - India May 2019 | Page 26

Ingredient products available include: baby rice cereal; breakfast recipe; and savoury recipes. Breakfast recipes are composed mainly of fruits and cereals. Savoury varieties are composite dishes containing ingredients such as: meats; fish; vegetables; and cereals. Dessert varieties consist of fruits, dairy products and cereals. Available drinks include: pure fruits juices with added vitamin C; and purified water with a hint of fruit flavour. Demand is Driving Innovation in Weaning Foods a chance they may be allergic to certain foods. That’s why it’s important to introduce cow’s milk, eggs, wheat, gluten, nuts, peanuts, peanut products, seeds, fish, and shellfish one at a time and not before six months. There is no evidence that waiting until your child is older will prevent them from developing a food allergy. Salt (>1g), sugar (including honey), whole nuts and shellfish should be avoided during complementary feeding to reduce the risks of toxins, food poisoning and tooth decay. The drinks which are not suitable for children under one year of age include: cow’s milk; sheep’s milk; rice milk; tea or coffee, even decaffeinated varieties; fruit juice drinks or fizzy drinks; sports or energy drinks; or dilutable squashes. Current Trends in Weaning Foods Both home-made and processed baby foods are suitable as complementary foods. Using home-made foods can introduce more varied tastes and textures and seems to provide an easier transition to family foods. Homemade foods can be cheaper and the parent knows what ingredients are used in the food, but parents and caregivers should be cautioned to avoid adding salt and sugar and using Processed baby foods are convenient, easy to prepare, and they have to adhere to strict compositional regulations like nutritional content adult convenience foods such as: gravy mixes; instant potato; soups; sauces; and ready meals because of their high salt content. Processed baby foods are convenient, easy to prepare, and they have to adhere to strict compositional regulations like nutritional content, etc. However, there are chances that an infant fed a diet of commercial foods may be reluctant to change later to home-prepared foods. Today, about 87 percent of global baby food and 66 percent of baby formula value sales come from North America and Europe, but developing markets are still driving growth. The sales have grown over 4 percent in Africa/Middle East, 3.4 percent in Asia-Pacific and 2.6 percent in Latin America. Weaning foods are available in cans and jars either as homogenous purées for young infants (4-6 months of age), or preparation with larger particle size for older infants (from about 7 months of age). Types of Food Marketing & Technology 26 May 2019 The drivers for innovations in weaning foods include: the changing lifestyles; and urbanisation. Growth in the market is also driven by a rising number of women working outside their homes. Also, the current consumer is highly aware of the requirements of their babies at every stage of growth. Thus, companies are now focussing on the incorporation of human milk oligosaccharides and probiotics in the weaning foods. Human milk oligosaccharides mimic the human milk and probiotics help to maintain the intestinal microbiota of the infant and thus keep the gut healthy. Within the EU, there is legislation governing the composition and labelling of baby foods. Some companies have their own additional nutritional guidelines for weaning foods to ensure that these foods help mothers to provide a varied and nutritionally balanced diet for their babies. Manufacturers need to highlight the safety records on their packages and educate their consumers about the benefits of going organic. Consumers need to believe that the processed weaning food companies also value their child’s health above everything! * PhD. Scholar, Food Technology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana; MSc. Food Technology, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore; B.Tech. Dairy Technology, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal Email id: [email protected]