Heinz Is Cheating Canada's Babies

Less Food, More Fillers than U.S. Counterparts

Heinz of Canada's baby foods are cheating babies of valuable nutrients because most of the foods are adulterated with water, sugar, and starch, the U.S.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) charged today. At a Toronto press conference, CSPI also reported that Heinz's Canadian baby foods are less nutritious than those the company sells in the U.S.

The nonprofit CSPI reports in the September 1996 issue of its Nutrition Action Healthletter that the H.J. Heinz Company of Canada uses "cheap fillers [that] imitate the taste and texture of food but provide no vitamins, minerals, or protein." CSPI found that Heinz adulterates 79 of its 95 Canadian products for babies five to 12 months old. Heinz commands over 90 percent of the nation's baby-food market

In 1995, CSPI published Cheating Babies, a report that documented the adulteration of baby foods in the U.S. The report sharply criticized Heinz and the Gerber Products Co., which claims two-thirds of the U.S. market, for using fillers. Gerber announced recently that it was eliminating fillers from many of its products. "That was good news for people in the U.S.," said CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson. "The bad news for Canadians is that Heinz products are still very low quality."

For example, CSPI found that:

Heinz of Canada's Beginner fruits and vegetables have an average of 20 percent less real food (and more added water) than the same Heinz products sold in the U.S. Heinz-U.S.'s Applesauce and Sweet Potatoes contain 40 percent more fruit or vegetables than Heinz of Canada's.

A jar of Heinz's Strained Bananas sold in the United States contains only about 25 percent bananas; the same Canadian product has only 20 percent.

In six of 10 Heinz of Canada desserts, but only four of 16 Heinz-U.S. desserts, water and sugar are the two major ingredients. By contrast, every Gerber or Beech-Nut dessert has fruit, milk, or yogurt as one of its two major ingredients.

Responding to the CSPI study, Dr. Marvin Gans, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto, declared: "As a pediatrician and an advocate for children, I believe that baby foods should be as nutritious as possible. To allow consumers to compare products -- and decide whether to prepare their own baby foods -- the percentages of major ingredients in each jar should be clearly labeled.

"It is also distressing to see that some Heinz products differ so much in Canada from those in the U.S., even though the two countries comprise a single market," Dr. Gans said. "I cannot see any logical explanation for the differences between them, and I hope that Heinz will improve the situation."

CSPI has written to Health Canada urging that it require baby-food labels to disclose clearly the percentages of major ingredients so consumers can better evaluate products before purchasing them.

The group has also written to the president of Heinz asking that the company stop adulterating baby foods with fillers. "Although there is no proof that the fillers are positively harmful," Dr. Jacobson said, "it is certain that parents are paying real-food prices for them and not receiving all the nutrients they expect."

CSPI's Healthletter noted, "If you ask the Canadian Paediatric Society for nutrition guidance, it may send you Starting Right, an attractive pamphlet 'made possible through an education grant from H.J. Heinz Company of Canada, Ltd.'" The pamphlet lauds commercial baby foods -- a distressing fact but, given the long reach of corporate influence, not a surprising one.

CSPI is a nonprofit citizens' group supported by 750,000 members, including 20,000 in Canada. In the United States, CSPI led the effort to win passage of the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act. More recently, the group has also gained widespread attention through its nutrition studies of movie-theatre popcorn and restaurant foods. CSPI is supported largely by subscriptions to Nutrition Action Healthletter and accepts no funds from industry or government.

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