How labelling of commercial infant foods impacts parents' beliefs about sugar content and related purchasing and feeding decisions: A scoping review.

To assess what is known about how labelling of commercial infant food (CIF) impacts parents' beliefs about a product's sugar content and their related purchasing and feeding decisions. Mixed methods scoping review. Peer-reviewed studies were identified from six electronic databases, and grey literature was identified via Google, relevant websites, government reports, and by contacting organisations. Searches were completed in May 2024 using a comprehensive search string incorporating keywords and indexed terms related to 'parents', 'beliefs', 'sugar', and 'baby food labels'. Northern, Western and Southern Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Parents and primary caregivers of children (≤ 37 months) or those specifically choosing CIF for their children. In total, 1123 records were screened and 17 were included for review, with all records published since 2015. Records reported on 15 unique studies, including seven quantitative, seven qualitative and one mixed-methods study. Studies found that simply labelling products as suitable for babies elicited a trust that they were healthy, including not having a high sugar content. Interventions alerting parents to sugar content of products were associated with less positive opinions or reducing intention to purchase. In 11 studies parents described being drawn to products displaying labels such as 'no added sugar', which some perceived as meaning low sugar. In 5 studies parents described sugar labelling as misleading and/or they explicitly expressed a desire for clearer sugar labelling. Parents find current labelling of CIF misleading and desire clearer labelling to support informed purchasing and feeding decisions.