Kids’ snacking brand patents method for reducing sugars in babyfood

The founder of a children’s snacking brand has patented a method designed to minimise the free sugars created during the processing of babyfood products.

Charles Fermor, a Kent-based farmer and the co-founder of kids’ fruit and veg snacking brand Freddie’s Farm, has developed a method that prioritises the minimal processing of fresh whole fruit and veg. This helps to preserve the bond between the naturally occurring sugars in fruit and fibre, resulting in products with fewer free sugars.

Fermor developed the method after visiting a babyfood factory in Italy, where he was “horrified” by the quality of the ingredients and the processing methods used in production.

“The quality of the apples they were using was appalling,” said Fermor, who claimed the factory used “lots of rotten fruit, but it went through such a level of processing that apparently this wasn’t a problem.”

The fruit then went through a “turbo extractor”, where it was “micronised and then heated to huge temperatures”.

“It doesn’t matter what variety of fruit you put in; it all comes out tasting the same due to the level of processing,” said Fermor, adding: “I was horrified.”

“I felt compelled to develop a new method that I believe offers a huge step forward in terms of delivering better nutrition for babies and very young children.”

A new approach

“We start with fresh, ripe, good-quality fruit and vegetables,” he explained. The ingredients are “washed thoroughly, sorted and grated or cut” and “put in a holding tank to allow any free sugars created by the processing to be drained away. This ‘free sugar’ juice can be sold into the cider industry or fruit juice market.

“Next, the product goes through a special sieving system, designed to remove stalk, pips, stones or anything in the fruit or vegetable we don’t want to eat, but keeps in as much of the whole fruit or vegetable pieces.

“After this, the product can be packed and undergo high-pressure processing (HPP), pascalisation, or freezing to extend its shelf life. Flash pasteurisation can also be used but will inherently affect the attributes of the final product… Either way the result is delicious and more similar in terms of taste and texture of the original fruit or vegetable used.”

Fermor wants to work with the leading brands to roll out his patented method and provide “genuinely healthier food options to parents of babies”.

“Primarily, we’re looking to pass on our technology to other manufacturers.

“The market at the moment is dominated by a few big food companies, and launching a new babyfood brand is going to be very, very difficult.”

Incentive for change

However, Fermor said he was worried “there wasn’t really the incentive to change much” for established brands that have a cost-effective product.

“Ultimately, the reason we’re in this position now is because making a very highly processed fruit-based babyfood is very cheap.

“It goes through a process called turbo-pulping, where they extract a very high percentage of the initial ingredients, and make it into something that has very good palpability.

“Basically, it’s got a very good mouthfeel and it’s very consistent throughout seasons. You can get different varieties of apples, of different ripeness, flavour, quantity, and it comes out exactly the same.”

Despite this, growing awareness around the potential dangers of ultra-processed foods and excessive free sugars could help change the direction of the babyfood category, said Fermor.

“There is quite a lot of research coming out on the effects of the free sugars at this level of processing that’s going into babyfood.

“So, I’m hoping that the more research that comes out, and the more work that’s done by nutritionists, and hopefully more lobbying on parliament as well, will help to create a sea change.”