Sarah Alexander, Chief Advisor, OECE
Chief Advisor to the Office of Early Childhood Education, Dr Sarah Alexander, said there was a large and predominantly untapped market for food suppliers and the grocery industry for early childhood lunches and snacks.
With approximately 181,000 children under six years of age attending early childhood education (ECE), often full-time, it is a vast market. Unlike schools, most ECE services operate year-round, providing care for the children of working parents.
"Back in the day, most ECE services supplied cooked lunches," said Dr Alexander.
Dr Alexander explained that the Food Act of 2014 that required registration with MPI and standards for food preparation and safety meant fewer service-prepared cooked lunches for children. While there is still demand for a bulk supply of foods, the most significant demand today is for lunchbox foods and age-appropriate healthy snacks.
Families with children under two years of age make up 21 percent of the market. These families have key specific needs, including rusks for teething and affordable, nutritious baby foods that can be stored and do not require refrigeration until at least after they have been opened.
Instant formula and sturdy, no-spill, easy-to-clean feeding bottles that can be personalised for easy identification.
However, when children can eat solids, Dr Alexander explained that families need foods that meet the New Zealand Ministry of Health's healthy eating guidelines on reducing the risk of food-related choking at ECE services.
Also necessary are lunchboxes and containers, which children can open independently, considering they do not have the strength of adults, are easily cleanable, and can withstand daily cleaning. Snacks that use minimal packaging or can be without packaging in lunchboxes are ideal, as removing this supports staff who often do not have the time to assist each child with packaging removal and reducing waste.
In 2021, new rules were introduced that required ECE services to ensure that food given to a child was age-appropriate to reduce the risk of choking and was prepared appropriately, for example, mashed, boiled, and grated. These were implemented following tragic incidents and Dr Alexander's and parents' advocacy. These requirements do not flow onto parents supplying their children's lunchboxes. However, ECE services staff are responsible for educating parents on food safety and ensuring that the food children eat under ECE staff supervision is safe for them.
Banned foods include nuts, seeds, hard or chewy lollies, potato chips, corn chips, hard rice crackers, dried fruit, sausages, saveloys and cheerios, marshmallows and popcorn.
Dr Alexadner said it would be helpful for food packaging manufacturers to show on labels whether or not a food product was ECE safe and appropriate and in what ways food might need to be prepared to reduce the risk of choking before it is given to an infant, toddler, or preschooler.
"Supermarkets and grocery stores can support parents to reduce their child's risk of food-related choking by categorising foods or creating displays of age-appropriate food ranges. When offering free fruit, this should be accompanied by a caution notice to suggest to parents the best fruits (that are safe to give whole) depending on their child's age."
Allergy New Zealand estimates that one in ten infants is likely to have a food allergy by the time they are one year old. This has been another driver of change in what food is given to children by ECE services and what parents are requested not to put in their children's lunchboxes.
These are motivated by the fact that there is significant risk with children sharing or taking food from another child, including risks of cross-contact where a safe food for a child comes in contact with a food that another child is allergic to. Allergen labelling of baby food in tins and jars and food explicitly marketed for children, catering to these varying needs, saves lives and distress.
Allergen labelling of baby food tins, jars, and food marketed to young children saves lives and distress. Clear/bold allergen labelling would be very helpful. In early childhood centres, there can be many children with various food allergies and adults who are not the children's parents providing care and supervision. Therefore, allergen labelling is critical to reduce risks and prevent harm.
The market for children's food and snacks and products such as baby bottles and appropriate lunchboxes is evolving and continuing to grow, with most of our nation's children attending early childhood education. By taking time to understand the market, producers and suppliers can do more to access this and show support for the safety and health of the youngest consumers.
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