Dr. Karen Matvienko-Sikar:

Our research is focussed on parents of young infants. Based on the national research we have done and international evidence, we have found that parents tend not to trust much the packaging on younger children's food products, particularly the age recommendations. Many food packages would state that they are suitable for consumption from four or six months onwards, whereas parents know they should wait until the baby is aged six months and they have been given this advice repeatedly. Whether people stick to that advice is dependent on a range of factors, but we consistently found that the parents tended to be less trusting of that type of food packaging. However, many of the constraints that we have mentioned relating to time and cost lead parents to still buy and use those products because they provide a quick and easy alternative for them. Parents tend to look through the ingredients list to identify healthy components. Returning to what the other speakers have said, however, the issue is whether they have the knowledge to interpret this information correctly. We do not know if that is always the case. The parents of young children engage in this inconsistently..

I am not sure of the position regarding adolescents..