Nestlé has cut out porridge for the little ones – researchers dispute the advice behind it

– Nestlé has chosen to change the age recommendation from four months to six months for all children’s porridges in Europe, says communications manager Celin Huseby in Nestlé Norway to NTB.

The rationale is that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed until they are around six months old. Only then should one start with solid food, according to WHO.

Since 2001, this has also been the recommendation from the Norwegian health authorities.

“For children who receive only mother’s milk (fully breastfed), there is no reason to start with other food before the child is six months old, as long as the child follows its growth curve and the mother wishes to fully breastfeed”, writes the Norwegian Directorate of Health in its guide to parents.

Leading researchers, however, strongly disagree with the WHO and the Norwegian Directorate of Health.

– The WHO does not follow the lesson. The prevailing view in the professional environment is that it is good to start with solid food from between four and six months, says pediatrician and researcher Ketil Størdal to NTB.

Few follow the advice

In recent decades, more and more studies have come to support this, according to Størdal. In May at the latest, some of the world’s leading academic circles came together for å be WHO snu.

– It is quite unusual for the WHO to receive so much opposition, says Størdal.

The reason why babies should be given solid food earlier is to prevent allergies, he says. There is absolutely no substitute for breast milk.

– It is important to convey that breastfeeding is the basis for the first year. There is no discussion. But that is not what the question is regarding, but the prevention of allergies, says the paediatrician.

He also says that most parents in Norway do not follow the recommendation from the authorities.

– There are few Norwegian children who become fully paralyzed at six months.

All right with the home team

– Can you give Nestlé’s porridge recommended for children aged six months to four-month-old babies?

– Yes, you can. Most people who have had babies themselves know that little food actually goes in. The child regulates it himself. It may be a little on the first day and a little more the next day, when the child is ready for solid food.

In the past year, there has been much debate regarding homemade porridge versus shop-bought porridge for infants. Størdal says that homemade porridge is perfect if you find a quality-assured recipe.

– Purchased porridge is fine, and if you want to make it yourself, there are good recipes for it, he says.

New advice last year

Special adviser Gry Hay in the Directorate of Health says the recommendations were updated last year.

– Both the WHO recommendations and the Nordic nutritional recommendations ( NNR2023 ) states that solid food should be introduced around six months of age, says Hay to NTB.

The Nordic councils conclude that there is a need for more knowledge regarding the risk of allergy related to the timing of the introduction of solid food.

– In line with the world’s leading allergy communities, the councils recommend that potentially allergenic foods such as milk, eggs and peanuts should be introduced at the same time as the child starts solid food and during the first year of life, she says.

– Full breastfeeding, i.e. only breast milk and vitamin supplements, for the first six months, and then breast milk together with solid food, entered the list of WHO’s “best buys” in 2023, i.e. the most cost-effective measures to prevent non-infectious diseases, says Hay.

Thinks the research is sufficient

However, pediatrician Størdal refers to the leading medical journal The Lancet when he disputes the authorities’ advice.

– The Lancet has written in a leading position that we do not need more research. We have what we need, he says.

He emphasizes that the WHO gives a recommendation that should fit everywhere in the world. When European professional communities ask for nuanced advice, it is because the burden of disease is different in rich countries and because the introduction of solid food is safe here with clean water and safe food.

– Unfortunately, the situation is completely different elsewhere. I myself have worked under different conditions than in Norway, and then the WHO’s recommendation fits well, says Størdal.