Findings from a content analysis of toddler snack foods: Health claims, ingredient claims, and use of unregulated advertising terms

Introduction: A number of toddler snack food packages have recently been criticized for presenting misleading health information. A content analysis of package features of toddler snack foods was conducted to investigate how often certain health-implying front-of-package features appeared on these packages. It was found that most of these packages use such features and these features often contained misleading health information. Methods: Five undergraduate coders coded 68 products. Coded features include health claims, nutrient claims, ingredient claims, and graphics. Ingredient claims and graphics of potential ingredients were identified and cross-referenced with the ingredient list on the back of the package. Results: The data revealed that almost all of the packages used the coded features: 82% of the sample featured nutrient claims; 52% featured health claims; 97% included graphical depictions and 66% of those graphics were possible ingredients in the product; and 86% featured ingredient claims. Discussion: Of all the products that contained an ingredient claim or graphics of a potential ingredient, the ingredient used in the claim or graphical feature was present in the ingredient list, but the ingredient was often in a non-conventional form, such as a puree, a powder, flavor, or color. Furthermore, the featured ingredient was often very far down in the ingredient list, which has been the issue raised in legal disputes. The findings from this study provide a foundation of knowledge that may guide future research and policies related to package labeling and the design of future nutrition education interventions.