Iron content and fortification status of a sample of local and imported pre-packaged baby foods available in Hong Kong.

Abstract

To examine the iron content and fortification status of pre-packaged baby foods in Hong Kong. Data of 472 pre-packaged baby foods were collected from various distribution points in Hong Kong in July-August 2018. Item descriptors, iron content, ingredients list, country of origin, organic status and iron-related guidelines displayed on the package were recorded. Between group differences in the median (IQR) iron content were compared by the Mann-Whitney U test; and by Pearson's χ2 test for the proportion of pre-packaged baby foods that were iron-fortified or displaying iron-related guidelines, stratified by country of origin and organic status where appropriate. Only 79 out of 472 pre-packaged baby foods displayed iron content on their labels, and their median iron content was 6.80 (1.3-20.0) mg/100 g. Of these, cereals [14.0 (12.0-32.0)] and snacks and finger foods [12.6 (1.4-21.3)] had significantly higher iron content than other pre-packaged baby foods. Less than 20% of pre-packaged baby foods in Hong Kong were iron-fortified. North American pre-packaged baby foods (49.2%) were more likely than those from other places of origin (all P < .001) to be iron-fortified, and marginally more non-organic pre-packaged baby foods were iron-fortified products than organic (23.6% vs 16.2%, P=.043). Only 17.2% of products included iron-related guidelines/cautions on their packaging. The majority of pre-packaged baby foods available in Hong Kong lacked iron fortification, and did not display iron-related guidelines/cautions or their iron content on the package. Given the inconsistent fortification practices by manufacturers, labelling of iron content should be mandatory to assist parents in identifying iron-rich pre-packaged baby foods.