Diets high in ultra-processed foods are often also high in total energy, saturated fat, salt and free sugar.
Children who consume diets high in ultra-processed foods may: displace unprocessed and minimally processed foods from their diet, consume too much energy, saturated fat, salt and free sugars, develop a preference for ultra processed foods and lack exposure to unprocessed foods.
At Nursery Kitchen:
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- we recognise the benefits of exposing children to dishes and meals made from scratch with whole and raw ingredients. We work hard to limit the amount of unhealthy ultra-processed foods on our menu and, where processed foods are included, pay careful attention to the ingredients and nutritional value of the food to ensure it is a suitable choice for young children in the context of a balanced and varied diet.
- We recognise that some food additives are essential for maintaining a viable shelf life of foods as well as improving the safety and quality of some foods. The assessment and use of additives in foodstuffs is tightly controlled at both a European and national level.
- We follow the guidelines from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and European Standards Agency (EFSA) by only ever considering permitted additives in our dishes but pride ourselves in being extra vigilant when it comes to additives in our dishes. We carefully check the labels of all our ingredients to ensure anything unnecessary is avoided and work hard to source products with as few additives as possible.