A cross-sectional analysis of the nutritional quality and prices of commercial infant and toddler food products in the Canadian food supply
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract Background Adequate nutrition is essential for growth and development during infancy and early childhood; however, the healthfulness and cost of commercial infant and toddler food and beverage products (ITP) have not been documented in Canada. Objective This study assessed the nutritional quality and prices of ITP in the Canadian food supply. Design Using the Food Label Information and Price 2020 database, ITP intended for children < 4-years-old (n = 423) were examined for their energy and nutrient content (per 100 g or mL), the prevalence of products ‘High in’ nutrient(s)-of-concern (according to Canadian front-of-pack labelling thresholds), and their price (per 100 g or mL). Results Median energy level of ITP was 101 kcal [IQR: 67, 400], derived primarily from carbohydrates (21.7 g [14.1, 71.4]). Although total and saturated fat (1.2 g [0, 7.1] and 0 g [0, 0], respectively) and sodium (16 mg [4, 100]) were low, ITP were also low in protein (3.6 g [0.8, 10.0]) and iron (0.9 mg [0.4, 6.0]), and high in sugars (10.9 g [5.5, 17.6]). Based on Canadian front-of-pack labelling thresholds, 59% (n = 248) of products were ‘High in’ one or more nutrients-of-concern, particularly sugars (55%, n = 234). Prices varied significantly, ranging from $1.32 to $6.95, with toddler products costing more than those for infants ($3.14 vs. $1.55). Conclusions Overall, the nutritional quality of commercial ITP in Canada is poor, with many products ‘High in’ sugars, highlighting the need for healthier, more affordable options and public health policies that can support healthier food environments for infants and toddlers.
Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.
How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.003 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.005 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".