Home-made and commercial complementary meals in German infants: results of the DONALD study

BackgroundInfant complementary food can be home-made or bought as ready-to-eat commercial products. The nutrient composition of commercial products is regularised in a European Commission guideline, whereas the preparation of home-made complementary meals is the responsibility of caregivers. In the present study, the composition of commercial and home-made complementary meals as eaten by healthy German infants was compared. MethodsOf 8226 complementary meals (74% commercial and 26% home-made) recorded in 1083, 3-day weighed dietary records from 396 participants (6-12months old) of the German DONALD (DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed) study were analysed. ResultsMedian energy density (kcal100g(-1)) was highest in commercial and home-made cereal-milk meals (89kcal100g(-1)). In home-made savoury and cereal-fruit meals, the energy density was significantly higher compared to their commercial counterparts. Median protein contents were highest in savoury and cereal-milk meals (>2.5g100g(-1)) and dairy-fruit meals (2-4g100g(-1)). Added sugars were found in less than a quarter of meals. Highest median sodium contents were found not only in commercial savoury meals (median 38mg100g(-1)) and vegetable meals (32mg100g(-1)), but also in home-made cereal-milk meals (36mg100g(-1)). Both median fat and iron contents were higher in home-made meals compared to commercial savoury and cereal-fruit meals. ConclusionsWith the exception of the higher sodium content in commercial savoury meals for older infants, the lower fat content in commercial savoury and cereal-fruit meals, and the added sugar content in some commercial dairy-fruit meals, a comparison of commercial and home-made complementary meals did not reveal any serious inadequacy.