Children's Nutrition Action Plan - The Food Commission

Lizzie Vann
Baby Organix
Lizzie Vann, director of the food company Baby Organix, asked:
• Can individual companies change the whole industry?
• Can there be carrots (incentives to change) as well as sticks (regulatory controls)?
• Who can push through change?
Lizzie Vann described the set-up and guiding principles of Baby Organix, which produces
high quality organic baby and weaning foods. She said that Baby Organix had been set up as
‘a beacon for change’, with a strong campaigning message that food quality and high
production values are of prime importance for the nutrition of babies and young children.
Baby Organix has worked to create and market quality products, set benchmarks, and make a
lot of noise in the sector about the pursuit of the very highest standards of food. The company
was set up as an ethical company, committed to including as much information on food labels
as possible, including percentage labelling. The company was also committed to targets for
formulation and principles of production, such as a commitment to using no flavourings.
These principles have been adhered to partly in the belief that individual companies can drive
change and protect standards. What are the signs of success of this approach? Baby Organix
has been ridiculed, discussed, but ultimately copied by other food manufacturers.
In addition, evidence suggests that a lot of parents have been inspired to make changes, to
cook for their babies, and to criticise current food products and to ask questions about what is
in food marketed as suitable for babies and young children.
Baby Organix chose to use organic ingredients partly because, inherently, organic foodstuffs
are better regulated, which leads to better food. The organic sector has grown enormously in
the time that Baby Organix has been operating, and large-scale food interests are beginning to
take an interest. Lizzie warned that the pre-eminence of organic quality could be under threat,
with potential moves from the large-scale food industry to formulate their own organic
standards to better suit their large-scale manufacturing needs.
Organic standards may well be eroded by these interests to include some of the ingredients
(such as colourings and flavourings) and processes to reduce the nutritional content of foods
for babies and small children, for the purpose of reducing production costs and boosting
profits. Many food manufacturers, even brand names that we trust are already using cynical
methods to do just this.
There opportunities for the food industry to contribute to better nutrition for children. There
are positive nutrition campaigns to be supported – e.g., the ‘five a day’ message for fruit and
veg. This kind of message offers an excellent opportunity to develop products and marketing
initiatives that have ‘win-win’ outcomes for both commercial interests and public health.
The best possible help that government can offer to the food sector to improve nutritional
quality, especially for children’s food is to ‘regulate, regulate, regulate’. We need standards
to live up to; we lack a clear lead. Our goal must be to completely redefine children’s food.
Baby Organix, Knapp Mill, Mill Road, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 2LU.
The Children’s Nutrition Action Plan, published by The Food Commission
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