Do your children take energy drinks with caffeine? Did you know that these and other caffeinated supplemented foods and beverages are not advised for children under the age of 14 by Health Canada? You still need to know more.
One of our main priorities as parents is making sure our kids get the nutrition they need for healthy growth and development. Supplemented foods have become more and more popular in today’s market as a practical means of increasing dietary consumption. However, it’s crucial to comprehend these items’ contents, how they work, possible advantages, and risks before adding them to your child’s diet.
Foods or beverages having one or more particular substances added are referred to as supplemented foods or drinks. Fruit drinks, fizzy beverages, and snack bars are a few examples of foods that have been supplemented. The extra components may consist of caffeine, minerals such as calcium, vitamins such as vitamin C, and amino acids such as L-leucine.
These are not the same as foods that have been fortified, which include extra nutrients for nutritional reasons, such as adding vitamin D to milk to help bone health.
Certain meals that have been supplemented, such energy drinks with caffeine, are not appropriate for kids due to the kind or quantity of extra substances (like caffeine) that are added to them.
Health Canada has issued new regulations mandating updated labeling for meals and drinks that include supplements to assist you navigate these items. All of these foods and beverages will need to have new labels as of January 1st, 2026, but you may see them before.
Instead of a nutrition facts table, these goods will have a supplemented food facts table with a “Supplemented with” section that lists all the additional components that were added. Some labels will additionally have a warning symbol on the front. Customers are advised to look for more specific warnings, including “Not recommended for those under 14 years old,” on the product’s side or back.
To learn more about supplement foods visit:
https://newscanada.com/en/A-guide-for-parents–What-you-need-to-know-about-supplemented-foods-138521
canada.ca/supplemented-foods
Reference: https://newscanada.com/
Image by freepik
