Baby food shelves in US supermarkets are packed with nutrient-poor foods that contain too much sugar and salt and misleading marketing claims, according to a new study.

In the study, published recently in the journal Nutrients, researchers at the George Institute for Global Health analyzed 651 commercially produced infant and toddler foods from 10 U.S. supermarkets. They found that nearly 60 percent of the food did not meet nutritional standards set by the World Health Organization.

Of all the products, 70% did not meet the requirements for protein and 44% exceeded the recommended amount of total sugar. In addition, a quarter of the products did not meet the caloric requirements, and a fifth exceeded the recommended sodium limit values.

Dr. Elizabeth Dunford, adjunct assistant professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and senior author of the study, said one in four products contained added or hidden sweeteners, and 44 percent of total sugar in baby and toddler foods exceeded WHO recommendations.