These drinks, targeted to young kids, may promise unproven benefits like “improved brain development” or “improved immune function.” Yet the U.S. government has repeatedly fought against advertising restrictions on these products around the globe.

If you’re a parent, you might have noticed toddler “milk” while browsing the formula aisle. The powdered drink, aimed at children between 1 and 3, often pledges benefits like “improved brain development” or “improved immune function.”

But you may not know that these products are largely unregulated and make claims that are not supported by science, according to studies. For this reason, among others, public health authorities around the world have long sought to police such advertising. Yet despite these efforts, toddler milk has grown to become a $20 billion global business.

    • Moonrise2473@feddit.itEnglish
      22·
      8 months ago

      Yeah also here on the box they tout miraculous properties of this magic powder.

      I take it from my shelf to read it right now: it enhances the immune system, the brain and the cognitive development. A cup gives 100% of the recommended daily intake of iron, zinc, vitamin A, D, C. It’s a miracle!

      They should just say that it’s awesome for when the kid has a tantrum and wants the milk RIGHT NOW, super long shelf life and it’s 5x cheaper than fresh milk. Also could do some greenwashing like “using a box of our powder uses 10x less plastic than milk bottles” and “it’s lighter and shipping this to the supermarket causes 5x less CO2 emissions”.

      But no, they all choose to list only the snake oil benefits

      I’m wondering if it’s all the snake oil like Omega-3 bullshit that’s giving the bad flavor to it. It’s really bad, if the kid doesn’t drink all of it, I have to throw it, probably it’s due to the Canola oil that I see in the ingredients.

      I’d say even that they should sell this (if they find a way to have a decent flavor by removing the cheaper fillers like Canola and palm oil) in the milk aisle as “perfect for a quick latte” and not in the baby aisle as “if you don’t give this miraculous food to your baby you’re a bad parent”.

      As for the price, my previous comment was wrong, I calculate right now that 1kg of powder can make 7 liters of liquid. So at 10 euro per kg (this is toddler milk, not the more expensive and more miraculous baby milk) has a similar cost per liter of fresh milk