Nutrient Profiling of Commercial Complementary Food Products for Infants and Children in Indonesia

Abstract

Infancy and early childhood are the important stages in life where growth and development occur rapidly, whether physical, cognitive, or emotional. Complementary food is required to meet the nutritional needs of infants and young children. Commercial complementary food (CCF) has grown in popularity in numerous countries due to its convenience in preparation and storage, as well as massive marketing. The current CCF products distributed throughout the market have been revealed not to meet the recommended standards. This study analyzed the nutritional content, the label information, and the ingredients of main CCF products in Indonesia from online and offline stores by referring to Indonesian BPOM Regulation No. 24 of 2019 regarding CCF. Information from the product’s label were collected and analyzed by comparing them to the BPOM standard. Out of 120 products, 82.50% included nutritional information on the label. More than 90% of products (different n for each nutrient) had nutritional content within the standard in terms of mandatory macronutrients, except for the energy density and alpha-linolenic acid. The mandatory micronutrients were within the standard in more than 80% of products (different n for each nutrient), except for vitamin D, magnesium, and potassium. Overall, more than 60% of products (n=120) included the mandatory label information, despite having a lower compliance rate with the regulation. The most common ingredients used were cereals and vegetables, while the least used were fruits and fish. Regulations should be updated as there were still vague regulations that required standardization. Awareness regarding the importance of including nutritional & label information should be emphasized to companies and manufacturers as there are still a lot of areas to be improved within the main CCF industry.