Food safety, quality and transparency are among the trends driving the baby food market, according to Symrise. More than ever, globally, parents feel concerned about how they feed their babies, seeking nutritious foods with safe and trusted ingredients from farm to spoon.

Ahead of a webinar on the subject, the company underscores the importance of good agricultural practices on the end result of infant nutrition and baby food.   

“Increasingly, most parents are concerned about the health implications of bad quality food on their babies. They are significantly concerned about pesticides and contaminants that may contain industrial baby food, and they know that it is linked to agricultural practices,” Marie Guillemot, baby food product manager, naturals – food & beverage, Symrise, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“Also, related to good agricultural practices, we notice that the organic trend is significant in product launches and has been boosted within the COVID-19 context,” she says.

In the mature markets of North America and Europe, Symrise points out that most baby food launches are organic, 62% and 56%, respectively. 

“In Asia Pacific, organic natural baby food products are in demand, and the trend is increasing. Organic can find a place in emerging markets because it’s a trusted certification and because there is mistrust for some parents on the lack of information from traditional brands in ASIA Pacific Latin America and Middle East Africa,” Guillemot continues. 

More claims are related to food safety and food quality valorized on the packaging. In particular, sustainable farming practices are coming into the spotlight.  

Safe and nutritional solutions to baby food industry 
Symrise works with a team of agronomists located in LATAM and Europe near the factories wher the company produces its baby food ingredients.

Guaranteeing food safety and quality - starting from the field - is a crucial part of operations. 

“We have built a close relationship with our suppliers. And our work also consists of the rigorous procedure of baby food raw material approval,” notes Nicolas Gribius, agronomy manager, naturals – food & beverage, at Symrise. 

Guillemot and Gribius will dive deeper into the trends shaping the baby food market and the agronomy behind trusted ingredients during a forthcoming webinar, “What’s New Baby?” on October 25, 10 am CEST.

Cleaning up the label
The webinar will also include insights into cleaning up the label in the baby food market. 

Having no nasties and a clean label on baby foods is paramount to parents. Sugar and salt levels in baby foods continue to decline as demand for natural ingredients increases. 

This can include cutting sugar, salt, fat and additives in children’s diets in a bid to tackle the obesity crisis in some parts of the world, such as the US, wher 13% of children aged two to five are suffering from obesity.