Parents and carers across England will soon find it easier to choose healthier options for babies and toddlers under new government guidelines designed to reduce sugar and salt in commercial baby foods and clarify confusing labels.

Announced by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the voluntary standards give manufacturers and retailers 18 months to meet specific targets on sugar and salt and to tighten up marketing and packaging claims. The measures cover foods and drinks marketed to children up to 36 months old and are intended to support families to shop more confidently for nutritious food for their children.

The detailed guidance-published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID)-sets out reformulation goals and a timetable: companies have until the end of February 2027 to implement the salt and sugar targets and comply with actions on labelling and marketing. That includes curbing vague or misleading phrases such as "no nasties" on products that may still be high in free sugars, and aligning on-pack messaging with official dietary advice for infants and young children.

Ministers say the move responds to mounting evidence that many shop-bought purées, snacks, and pouches aimed at babies are overly sweet, salty, or nutritionally unbalanced-potentially shaping taste preferences towards sugary foods. Recent research has shown that more than two-thirds of children aged 18 months to three years consume too much sugar, while more than one-fifth of children aged four to five in England are overweight or living with obesity.

Public health groups have broadly welcomed the direction of travel but urged vigilance on delivery. The Obesity Health Alliance called the guidance a step towards reforming a market in which products are often marketed as healthy despite high sugar content, and noted the government has said it will consider stronger measures if voluntary changes fall short. Campaigners have also pressed for tighter rules on textures and energy density to better support weaning diets.

The standards also seek to make supermarket choices clearer for time-pressed parents. Alongside reformulation, the guidelines push for transparent ingredient lists and statements that do not contradict NHS-endorsed advice on when and how to introduce solids-typically from around six months, alongside breast milk or formula. Officials say clearer labels should help families compare products quickly and avoid being misled by "health halo" claims.

While the guidance is voluntary, DHSC's press notice frames it as part of a broader prevention agenda to give children the "best start in life," and signals potential escalation if industry progress stalls. For now, manufacturers and retailers have a defined runway to adjust recipes, packaging and promotions. Parents, meanwhile, are encouraged to keep offering a variety of vegetables, pulses, and other minimally processed foods during weaning-reflecting nutritional advice to limit items high in free sugars, saturated fat and salt in the early years.

If fully implemented, the new standards could reset a crowded category, nudging product ranges towards less sugary, less salty options and improving the clarity of the information presented to shoppers-changes that public health experts say are overdue in the UK's baby food aisles.

Reference: GOV.UK