What this week’s baby food headlines really mean - and what parents deserve to know.

You may have seen the SMH article from 9 December 2025, ‘Foods that didn’t exist 10 years ago are putting baby and toddler health at risk’, highlighting ultra-processed baby and toddler snack foods that look healthy on the shelf but turn out to be far sweeter and more engineered than parents realise.

Whilst this article was about baby snack foods rather than baby pouch foods, we know that these types of stories can create a mix of frustration and confusion around feeding choices in general.

As parents, we all do our best. You read the packaging, you make what feels like a considered choice… and then you discover that what you bought wasn’t what you thought. It’s an awful feeling, and it shouldn’t be happening.

We know the category can be hard to navigate, and our goal is to lead with transparency and clarity - to help rather than add to the confusion. The news headlines and social media messages from brands in the category can be loud, contradictory, and sometimes even weaponise fear for commercial benefit, which only makes it harder for parents to feel confident.

Babies and toddlers need real food, and their parents don’t need trickery

At JUCA, we believe babies need real food, real flavours, and meals that support developing an appreciation for flavours in their natural form. Not exaggerated sweetness. Not engineered textures. Not hidden additions that make the ingredient list look better than the product actually is.

Our meals are designed to teach babies about a breadth of wholefood flavours and textures, helping them develop into confident, curious eaters. And as parents, it’s important to remember that just like it does for us as adults - balance matters. One less-than-perfect meal for your baby isn’t the end of the world. There’s no need to carry guilt about the food choices you’ve made or not made.

The JUCA approach: whole foods, flavour from real cooking techniques and persistence with purpose

When we began building JUCA, we decided we would do this differently. Not loudly or dramatically, and never by denigrating other baby food choices, but quietly, thoughtfully, and with a commitment to whole ingredients and real flavour.

We invested in working with a top chef so that wholefood ingredients could shine without the need for additives, concentrates, reconstitutions, or other shortcuts. Proper understanding of flavour combinations and cooking techniques gives you depth and balance that shortcuts simply can’t replicate.

To be honest, we were met with a lot of ‘no’s’ in the beginning. We were told it wasn’t possible to create baby meals at this standard using the ingredients we insisted on. But we kept refining and learning, believing there had to be a better way. And eventually, after years of persistence, we created the meals we had dreamed of: wholefood, savoury-led, nutrient-conscious and chef-crafted recipes that you can see reflected in our JUCA meals today.

Through that journey, we also learned the importance of responsibility in messaging. Not just in packaging, but across claims made in social media and marketing, which is currently unregulated in Australia. We believe honesty and transparency here is just as vital as on the packaging itself.

Transparency shouldn’t be rare

One of our biggest hopes for the future is that parents don’t need to decode packaging or guess what a product actually contains. That the front and back of a packet tell the same story. That “natural” actually means something. That brands don’t make unfounded claims on social media, perpetuating urban myths for commercial benefit, rather than clearly speaking to the facts.

Increased regulation moving forward is a good thing, as long as it helps parents feel clearer - not more overwhelmed, judged, or guilty. Families already carry enough pressure. Better labelling, stronger standards, and honest communication - including online messaging - would ease that load, not add to it.

Where we stand

At JUCA, we’ll keep doing what we’ve done from day one:

• Champion real food and real flavours
• Cook meals with whole ingredients with no added sugar, no cheaper ‘filler’ ingredients, no concentrates, and nothing artificial
• Offer savoury-led meals that support how babies naturally develop their palate
• Stay transparent about what’s in every pouch – on the packaging and across all our messaging
• Back parents with clarity, not judgement
• Remind parents that balance matters - one imperfect meal doesn’t undo progress, and no parent should ever be made to feel guilty about their food choices

You deserve baby and toddler food you can trust. Food that supports your values, not contradicts them.

And as the conversation around the category evolves, we’ll keep showing up with the same persistence, transparency, and commitment that started our JUCA journey in the first place.

Much love,

Justine & Cav

Founders, JUCA.