2020-06-11 - Intertek Webinar - Determining Suitable Age For Food Products

DETERMINING SUITABLE AGE
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FOOD

PRODUCTS
Presented by Intertek
June 11, 2020
©2020 INTERTEK ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No reproduction of this material is allowed without written permission of Intertek.
The information in this presentation is intended to provide an overview of the regulations, but is not intended to be a substitute for regulatory advice.
To receive regulatory advice, please contact Intertek directly.
REGULATIONS - USA
• The US Food and Drug Administration requires
certain information to be clearly stated on
packaged food, such as:
• Name of product
• Manufacturer or distributor name and
address
• Product weight
• Ingredients
• Serving size, calories, nutritional info
• “Best by” date
• Small parts/choking warnings required on toys
but not required on food products
• No regulations requiring age grading on food
products
© Intertek 2020. All rights reserved. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-materials/new-nutrition-facts-label 2
DID YOU KNOW… Top Choking Hazards
Hot Dogs
Whole Grapes
At least
1 child dies from
choking on food every 5 days in
The U.S. Hard/Sticky Candy
Peanuts/Nuts/Seeds
10,000+ Children are taken to an

emergency room each year
for food-choking injuries Raw Vegetables (carrots, peas, etc.)
Apples
Choking is one of the leading causes of Popcorn
death among children under the age of 5

Marshmallows
Foods that are most dangerous are cylindrical, hard, and Peanut Butter
airway sized
© Intertek 2020. All rights reserved. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/125/3/601#ref-12 3

https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/injury_prevention/choking_prevention_for_children.htm
CHOKING RISK FACTORS
• Lack of experience with food
• Lack of dentition
• Easily distracted
• Limited caregiver vigilance
• Multi-tasking (playing, running, talking,
laughing, riding-in the car, etc.)
• Physical attributes of food product
(hardness, dissolution, lubricity, size, shape,
etc.)
© Intertek 2020. All rights reserved. 4
IMPORTANCE OF AGE RECOMMENDATIONS
• Age recommendations helps caregivers to

understand when a product would be suitable for
their individual child
• All children follow a similar sequence
of development yet each child develops at
their own rate
• Intertek can provide guidance on age
recommendations and corresponding
developmental/oral milestones
WHY DEVELOPMENT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER
6-9 Months 18-24 Months

• AAP recommends children start solid • Development: Walking and eventually
foods other than breastmilk/formula running, says numerous words, self feeds
around 6 months of age using utensils and drinks from a cup
• Development: Sits upright typically • Oral Motor Skills: Movements are more
without support, holds head up precise and refined, uses lips to control bite
well, shows improvements in fine motor and keep food in the mouth, bites through a
skills (holding, grasping, reaching, variety of textures using dentition, rotary
squeezing items), may begin to crawl chew
• Oral Motor Skills: Move food from front
of mouth to back, controls food within
the mouth, begins to self feed using
fingers/hands
https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/infantandtoddlernutrition/foods-and-drinks/when-to-
© Intertek 2020. All rights reserved. introduce-solid-foods.html 6
DEVELOPMENT OF DENTITION ALSO IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER
https://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/publications/Files/patient_56.pdf
APPROPRIATE FOODS
• 6-9 months: Dentition not required

to consume the product, allows child
to learn how to control food in the
mouth, slightly thicker than liquid,
dissolves quickly, remains in a bolus,
limited scatter
• 18-24 months: Harder foods
appropriate, variety of textures,
multiple textures (soup), can handle
scatter
ORGANOLEPTIC ASSESSMENT
Intertek’s food physical safety and child development specialists will provide their opinions on the food
product in relation to its potential for causing an airway obstruction related incident. This assessment is
a sensory evaluation, and thus does not incorporate any quantitative measurements.
1 Consume the item(s)
2 Explore physical attributes of the product
3 Consider oral motor patterns & developmental milestones of children
4 Consider foreseeable use behaviors
5 Provide age recommendation (i.e. 6-9 months, 9-12 months)
PRODUCT ASSURANCE
USA (224) 200-7172 EMEA +44 1372 366 074
product.assurance@intertek.com
http://www.intertek.com/product-assurance/

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DETERMINING SUITABLE AGE

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FOOD

© Intertek 2020. All rights reserved. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-materials/new-nutrition-facts-label 2

10,000+ Children are taken to an

Choking is one of the leading causes of Popcorn

death among children under the age of 5

© Intertek 2020. All rights reserved. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/125/3/601#ref-12 3

© Intertek 2020. All rights reserved. 4

• Age recommendations helps caregivers to

© Intertek 2020. All rights reserved. 5

6-9 Months 18-24 Months

• 6-9 months: Dentition not required

© Intertek 2020. All rights reserved. 8

1 Consume the item(s)

2 Explore physical attributes of the product

3 Consider oral motor patterns & developmental milestones of children

4 Consider foreseeable use behaviors

5 Provide age recommendation (i.e. 6-9 months, 9-12 months)

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