A joint workshop titled “Moving Complementary Feeding Forward” was held by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Federation of International Societies for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition in 2021 at the sixth World Congress Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. The presentations and conversations from the workshop were compiled in the study.

The workshop covered topics such as the effects of complementary feeding (CF) on allergies, the difficulty of supplying dietary needs during the CF period, the quality of complementary commercial foods (CFD) and associated marketing strategies, national CF guidelines in Europe, a nutrient profiling system for CF, and global policy perspectives on the standards and regulation of marketing for CF. Achieving adequate CF practices is crucial for a child’s short- and long-term health, preventing nutritional deficits, promoting normal growth and development, and lowering the risk of allergies.

The workshop determined the need to enhance feeding practices, unify evidence-based information, create guidelines in collaboration with different stakeholders, enhance the composition and marketing techniques of commercial CFD, and improve their clear labeling based on nutritional profile. For advances to be made, more efforts for collaboration between scientists, public health professionals, pediatric organizations, national governments, and the WHO were required.

Reference: journals.lww.com/jpgn/Fulltext/2022/10000/Moving_Complementary_Feeding_Forward__Report_on_a.6.aspx

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