Pushing a cart down the baby and toddler aisle, most parents assume that anything shelved for children ages 6 to 36 months has been vetted to some minimum nutrition standard.
An audit of 2,783 packaged products in 21 Austin, Texas, grocery stores suggests otherwise.
About 81 percent of the items were ultra-processed, and 49 percent missed at least one nutrient benchmark set by the World Health Organization for young children, according to preliminary findings from the University of Texas at Austin.
The results were presented on July 26, 2026 at NUTRITION 2026, the American Society for Nutrition's annual conference in National Harbor, Maryland. They have not yet been peer reviewed.
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How the audit was done
Erin A. Hudson, a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Austin and an ASN Science Policy Fellow, and Marissa Burgermaster, an assistant professor of nutritional sciences, photographed the baby and toddler sections at 21 stores and scored every product.
They used two frameworks. NOVA sorts foods by how heavily they are processed.
The WHO Europe nutrient profile model sets limits on added sugars, sodium, fat and calorie density for foods marketed to children under 3.
Infant formula, drinks and simple purees were excluded, since those tend to be first foods rather than shelf-stable snacks.
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Where the products fell short
Twenty-five percent of the audited items had more sodium than the WHO threshold, and 17 percent carried more sugar.
Another 11 percent breached the fat limit, and 12 percent exceeded the model's cap on energy density, the calories packed into a small serving.
Ultra-processed items were far more likely to be high in sugar without adding much in the way of nutrition, the researchers reported.
Less-processed items that ran high in fat or calories often did so through whole-food ingredients like peanuts or beef.
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The categories that missed the mark most often were the ones families buy every week: fruit pouches, oat bars, mac and cheese, turkey sticks and puff snacks made with cheese or peanut butter.
Hudson noted that many parents assume products sold on the baby and toddler food aisles have to meet certain nutrient standards. Her audit found that about half do not.
What the WHO model actually requires
The WHO Europe nutrient profile model was drafted to steer promotion of foods for children under 3 away from products high in added sugar and salt.
It caps added sugars and sodium and restricts marketing claims like "no added sugar" when the food derives much of its calories from sweetness in other forms.
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The United States has not adopted the model, and there is no federal nutrient limit specific to foods marketed for children 6 to 36 months.
What to check on the label
Parents can apply a rough version of the same test at the shelf. Look at the ingredient list for cane sugar, fruit juice concentrate, honey or syrup near the top of the line.
On savory items like puffs, sticks or pouches, check the sodium per serving. Front-of-pack language like "organic" or "made with real fruit" is not a signal of low sugar or low sodium.
Hudson and Burgermaster plan to submit the full data set for peer review. Their next step is to look at whether the same pattern holds in stores outside Texas.
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This article is made and published by Mie Hermansen, who may have used AI in the preparation.