Baby biscuits that contain harmful fats are to be ditched by food maker Cow & Gate following an investigation by campaigners.

Cow & Gate will discontinue its Bear, Berry Bear and Animal Friends biscuits from June because they contain hydrogenated fat.

The Children’s Food Campaign discovered they were among more than 50 products with higher-than-suggested levels of saturated fat, salt or sugar.

Hydrogenated fats are believed to lead to raised cholesterol, which can cause heart disease. They result from a chemical process designed to make products last longer on supermarket shelves.

Today a spokesman for Wiltshire-based Cow & Gate confirmed the Bear, Berry Bear, and Animal Friends biscuits would be withdrawn.

He said: “In discussion with the Food Standards Agency we have already taken the decision to discontinue our baby biscuits, when we became aware of presence of hydrogenated fat, which contains a very small amount of trans fats.”

Sugars

The spokesman added that it had set nutritional standards for products that were much tighter than legal requirements and more than 90 per cent of its range contained only naturally occurring sugars.

The Children’s Food Campaign carried out research on 107 products and also found that Farley’s Rusks, made by Heinz, contained 29 per cent sugar.

But Heinz hit back and said they were enriched with vitamins and minerals and had been the “ideal weaning food” for babies for 120 years.

Children’s Food Campaign spokesman Christine Haigh said: “Many foods marketed for babies and young children are often advertised as healthy.

“In reality, in terms of sugar and saturated fat content, some are worse than junk food. In particular, failing to correctly label products that contain dangerous trans fats is outrageous.

“We would always advise when buying processed foods, even those aimed at children, to check the information given on the labels and choose those with less salt and sugar.”

By Andy Richardson