Portugal’s nurseries serve babies sugary foods and choking hazards without national rules

Nutritionist Ana Rita Sousa warns that inconsistent nursery menus can undermine healthy eating habits at home, while exposing babies and toddlers to sugary products, processed foods and choking risks.

Many parents discover that once a child starts nursery, control over food choices can slip away. What is served outside the home does not always match the care taken at the family table, and that gap can shape taste preferences, eating habits and even food safety for years to come. In Portugal, according to the SAPO interview with nutritionist Ana Rita Sousa, some nurseries offer fresh food, variety and even vegetable gardens, while others still rely heavily on sweetened, packaged or highly processed products. Guidance and recommendations exist, but there is still no binding national rule to ensure that all babies and toddlers are fed in the same way.

Sousa, author of “Alimentação para Gente de Palmo e Meio”, said the biggest concern is the lasting effect that early feeding has on later habits. Research on infant nutrition consistently points to the importance of the first 1,000 days of life, a period in which food exposure can influence taste, health and future preferences. The problem, she argued, is that families who work hard to keep sugar and salt out of meals at home may find those efforts undone in nursery, where children can quickly become used to sweeter foods and more processed textures. External guides for parents also warn against feeding babies sugary snacks, fizzy drinks, sweetened dairy products and industrial foods during the first year and beyond.

Among the items most often criticised are biscuits with sugar, jelly desserts, flavoured yoghurts, ham, sausages and chicken nuggets. Sousa said these foods bring little nutritional value and should be rare, not routine. She also pointed to a recurring lack of variety, with some nursery menus limited to a narrow range of fruit such as apple, pear and banana despite the wider choice available locally. Nutrition advice aimed at parents similarly recommends offering babies minimally processed foods and avoiding salt-heavy or ultra-processed items that can encourage poor eating patterns later on.

Safety is another concern. Sousa said some nurseries still serve foods that carry a higher risk of choking, including whole grapes, raw apple and popcorn. She noted that young children have narrower airways and less developed chewing and swallowing skills, which makes the form in which food is served just as important as the food itself. Online paediatric guidance also flags hard, small or slippery foods, along with popcorn and similar snacks, as items that should be avoided or modified for very young children. Sousa added that many carers still lack proper training in airway-obstruction first aid, leaving a further gap in protection.

The wider system, she said, leaves too much to the judgement of each institution. In Portugal, nurseries are not governed by the same framework as schools, which makes national standards harder to enforce. According to the SAPO interview, even where a nutritionist signs off on menus, that professional may have limited independence if budgets are tight, suppliers are fixed or management resists change. Sousa also said some parents push back against healthier celebrations, preferring cakes and sweet treats for special occasions, which can make reform harder at nursery level.

She is also uneasy about the growing use of medical notes to block sugar or ultra-processed foods in everyday childcare. In her view, such certificates should be reserved for specific clinical needs, such as allergies or other serious medical conditions. The better solution, she said, is dialogue: parents should speak with management and the nutritionist together, bring practical guidance, and build support among other families rather than confronting staff immediately. She also argued that water should be the only drink offered, with added sugar removed from menus, especially for children under two, and that fresh, seasonal foods should become the norm rather than the exception.