Bremner & Co are pleased to announce that we have joined the Commercial Baby Food Review, a new cross-sector initiative working to improve the nutritional quality, composition and marketing of commercial baby and toddler foods in the UK through stronger, enforced regulation.
Funded by Impact on Urban Health, the Review brings together specialists in early years nutrition, food policy, public affairs, advocacy, public health and academia. Its focus is systemic: addressing inequalities in infant and young child feeding, including the disproportionate impact that poor quality products and misleading marketing have on low-income families.
The evidence base is already compelling. Research from the University of Leeds and Which?, alongside the Panorama investigation into baby food pouches, found that around a quarter of all products would require a front-of-pack warning for high sugar, that 41% of main meals were high in sugar, and that cheaper options were consistently more watery and less nutritious. Meanwhile, 92% of parents with children aged 0 to 3 use these products, and 40% of parents with babies under six months use them daily.
With voluntary guidelines published in August 2025 and an 18-month implementation window underway, scrutiny on manufacturers and retailers is intensifying. The Review will develop practical, evidence-informed policy solutions to strengthen accountability, advance regulatory reform, and better protect child health.
We’re proud to be working alongside First Steps Nutrition Trust, the Obesity Health Alliance (OHA), Sustain, Planeatry Alliance, and the University of Leeds WHO Collaborating Centre for Nutritional Epidemiology. This is exactly the kind of cross-sector collaboration the issue demands, and we’re looking forward to getting to work.
Our partner Dayna Brackley spoke to Vicky Sibson, Director of First Steps Nutrition Trust, about why this new programme puts the baby food industry on notice. You can read up on their conversation on the OHA’s blog here.