The ‘No Junk challenge’, launched by organic baby and toddler manufacturer Organix, is a two-phase campaign to challenge the food industry to remove the hgh quantities of added salt, fat, sugar and artifical additives from children’s food and encourage parents to cook with fresh, natural ingredients.
From 28 April - 4 May, parents will be invited to pledge to feed their family ‘real’ ingredients. During the week, parents will be able to share healthy recipes with natural ingredients.
Throughout the year, Organix will develop mini campaigns, including: No Junk Birthdays, No Junk Lunchboxes and No Junk Halloween, to encourage and inspire parents to choose healthy and nutritious food for their children.
As part of the ‘No Junk Challenge’, the organic baby and toddler company will also work with families and organisations to develop a 2015 manifesto for children’s food to present to Government.
The launch of the campaign follows a survey of 1,000 mothers, which revealed that while most are trying to make good food choices for their children, high-levels of fat, salt and sugar in many foods and confusing food labels are preventing them from doing so.
More than a third of respondents said they don’t understand half of the ingredients on the back of packaging, while half claimed that clearer food labelling would help them make healthier choices.
The mothers that took part in the survey also raised concerns over the levels of artificial additives in food targeted at children.
More than a third said there are particular additives that affect their child’s behaviour, however four out of ten mothers said avoiding artificial additives is almost impossible.
Anna Rosier, managing director of Organix, said, ‘We know that parents want to give their children good, healthy and nutritious food, but it’s not always easy to make good food choices.
'We are launching the No Junk Challenge to help parents with advice on how to read the ingredients, to identify the "dirty dozen" (foods with high pesticide residue), as well as providing fun activities to show parents what is in the food, and simple recipes to try out at home.
‘We are also calling for the Government and the food industry to do their part. We need regulation and clear easy to understand labelling that will help parents choose the best for their children. So we’re calling on parents to sign up to the No Junk Pledge.’
*The Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes an annual "Shoppers Guide to Pesticides" report. This includes the 'dirty dozen', a list of the fruits and vegetables likely to contain the highest amounts of pesticide residue.
