Children's Snacks

11AM CT | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17

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11am CT - Children's Snacks  

Introduction from our chair, Mary Ellen Shoup, Senior Correspondent, FoodNavigator-USA.com.

We kicked off the second installment in our interactive broadcast series with a presentation from Ali Webster, PhD, RD, Director, Research and Nutrition Communications at International Food Information Council on Parent and Caregiver Perspectives on Child Nutrition

Our dietary habits as young children influence how we eat for the rest of our lives, demonstrating the importance of promoting good nutrition early on. Yet, providing children with healthy, safe and well-accepted food while balancing many other priorities can be challenging. Understanding the decisions made by parents and caregivers—and the hurdles they face while trying to provide food for their children—provides valuable information for improving the dietary habits of children nationwide. This presentation highlighted IFIC’s consumer research that has examined how parents and caregivers consider current diet recommendations for kids, how they interpret and implement nutrition advice, and what information sources adults rely on when making food and dietary choices for children.

Key Takeaways:

  • Parents and caregivers report having good access to nutrition information and overall feel confident that they’re meeting their child’s nutritional needs.
  • However, many acknowledge obstacles, such as difficulty introducing variety into children’s’ diets, picky eating and the cost and taste of healthy food.
  • There are disconnects between aspiration and behavior when it comes to children’s eating patterns; sugar intake is one example.
  • Efforts to raise children with healthy diets doesn’t stop at the foods they eat or don’t eat: dietary supplement use is common in children.

The session continued with a presentation by from John Deaton, Vice President of Science & Technology at Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes on Probiotics for Children’s Health: Clinical Research on Bacillus subtilis DE111 ®

When it comes down to it, some parents are not eager to add more supplements to their children’s routine. But if you can add the health benefits of probiotics to their children’s favorite snacks, you’re delivering to parents their ideal solution. And when it comes to children, the importance of clinical evidence cannot be overstated. Well aware of this need, Deerland has conducted two clinical studies on the probiotic ingredient, Bacillus subtilis DE111 ®, involving children ages 2-6. In this presentation, John shared the results from this exciting and timely study showing the benefits of DE111 for preschool-attending kids, supporting microbiome diversity and reducing the frequency and duration of GI infections and other symptoms of illness.

The importance of supporting gut health in children, and the gut's link to immune health Clinical evidence showing the benefits of DE111® specifically for preschool-attending children Unique application advantages of the spore-forming probiotic DE111 ®.

The session continued with a conversation on Snack Time: Parents weigh in on the challenges and opportunities to improve the kid's snacking set, with three parents of young kids focused on what they struggle with when it comes to feeding their kids and what their wants and needs are for the kid's snacking set. Does the category lack variety? Are sugar levels out of control?

Joining FoodNavigator-USA’s Senior Correspondent, Mary Ellen Shoup, were Nicole Hakkarainen, Brigette Bufka and Leah Lopez.

Finally, We wraped up this year's series with a panel discussion and audience Q&A chaired by Mary Ellen Shoup on Children’s snacking trends – what does it take to build a kid-friendly and parent-approved snack brand? Addressing the current state of the kids snacks category, including new product innovation and consumer trends

Panelists: