Rama Krishna Sangem
Multinational company Nestle, that makes a range of packaged foods, particularly baby foods, admitted that it adds more sugar for its products meant for newborn children in poorer countries. This they admitted after an investigating agency, Public Eye of Switzerland brought the added sugar levels to light.
After a news report said packaged goods major Nestle adds sugar and honey to its infant milk and cereal range sold in low- and middle-income countries, the company’s India unit has said that in the last five years it has reduced added sugars by up to 30 per cent in its infant cereal range.
UK’s Guardian news organisation reported on Wednesday the findings of Public Eye, a Swiss investigative group, which said that Nestle added sugar in the form of sucrose or honey in its Nido and Cerelac range sold in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
A Nestle India spokesperson said on Wednesday: “We believe in the nutritional quality of our products for early childhood and prioritise using high-quality ingredients. Over the past five years, Nestlé India has reduced added sugars by up to 30 per cent, depending on the variant, in our infant cereals portfolio (milk cereal based complementary food)”
“We regularly review our portfolio and continue to innovate and reformulate our products to further reduce the level of added sugars without compromising on quality, safety and taste,” said the spokesperson.
Public Eye investigated the scam
Public Eye, which investigated the company’s practices in collaboration with the International Baby Food Action Network (IBAN), said: “Cerelac wheat-based cereals for six-month-old babies sold by Nestlé in Germany and the UK have no added sugar, while the same product contains over 5 grams per serving in Ethiopia and 6 grams in Thailand.”
n India, the same product reportedly contains 2.2 grams of sugar per serving. “In India, where sales surpassed $250 million in 2022, all Cerelac baby cereals contain added sugar, on average nearly 3 grams per serving,” Public Eye reported. The company sells 15 products under this range in the country.
“There is a double standard here that can’t be justified,” said Nigel Rollins, a scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), when presented with the findings.
“For Rollins, the fact that Nestlé does not add sugar to these products in Switzerland but is quite happy to do it in lower resources settings ‘is problematic both from a public health and ethical perspective,’” said Public Eye.
