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Allegation of double standards in Nestle baby products: Nestle Lanka says no added sugar
View(s):A global milk, milk food and food giant has been accused in a damning international investigation of having “double standards” with regard to their products sold in developed countries, as opposed to those marketed in lower- and middle-income countries.
The accusations have been levelled against Nestle, which touts itself as the world’s leading “nutrition, health and wellness company” headquartered in Switzerland, in April 2024 in an investigation conducted by ‘Public Eye’ and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN).
“Nestlé’s leading baby-food brands, promoted in low- and middle-income countries as healthy and key to supporting young children’s development, contain high levels of added sugar. In Switzerland, where Nestlé is headquartered, such products are sold with no added sugar,” states the piece in ‘Public Eye – Le Magazine’ titled ‘How Nestlé gets children hooked on sugar in lower-income countries’. It is written by Laurent Gaberell, Manuel Abebe and Patti Rundall.
These findings of a new investigation by Public Eye and IBFAN shed light on Nestlé’s “hypocrisy” and the “deceptive” marketing strategies deployed by the Swiss food giant.
Public Eye is a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Switzerland that offers a critical analysis of the impact that Switzerland and its companies, has on economically disadvantaged countries. IBFAN, meanwhile, is an international coalition aiming to improve maternal and infant and young child health through the protection, support and promotion of breastfeeding and optimal complementary feeding.
The investigation focuses mainly on ‘Cerelac’ and ‘Nido’, some of Nestlé’s best-selling baby-food brands in low- and middle-income countries.
It states: “According to exclusive data obtained from Euromonitor, a market analysis firm specializing in the food industry, their (Nestles) sales value in this category was greater than $2.5 billion in 2022. In its own communications or via third parties, Nestlé promotes Cerelac and Nido as brands whose aim is to help children ‘live healthier lives’. Fortified with vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients, these products are, according to the multinational, tailored to the needs of babies and young children and help to strengthen their growth, immune system and cognitive development.”
Questioning whether these infant cereals and powdered milks really offer “the best nutrition,” as Nestlé claims, Public Eye and IBFAN focus on “one of the key public enemies when it comes to nutrition: sugar”.
They give this ‘Spoiler alert’. “Our investigation shows that, for Nestlé, not all babies are equal when it comes to added sugar. While in Switzerland, where the company is headquartered, the main infant cereals and formula brands sold by the multinational come without added sugar, most Cerelac and Nido products marketed in lower-income countries do contain added sugar, often at high levels.”
This is while Cerelac wheat-based cereals for six-month-old babies sold by Nestlé in Germany and the United Kingdom have no added sugar, while the same product contains over 5 grams per serving in Ethiopia and 6 grams in Thailand.
Closer home, in India, where sales surpassed $250 million in 2022, all Cerelac baby cereals, they had found, contained added sugar, on average nearly 3 grams per serving………Cerelac is the world’s number one baby cereal brand, with sales exceeding $1 billion in 2022, according to Euromonitor, they state, adding “we examined 114 products sold in Nestlé’s main markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America. No less than 106 of them (93%) contained added sugar”.
“There is a double standard here that can’t be justified,” the report quotes Nigel Rollins, scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO), as saying, when presented with their 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”.
According to Rollins manufacturers may try to get children accustomed to a certain level of sugar at a very early age, so that they prefer products high in sugar. “This is totally inappropriate,” he had said.
Nestlé had not responded to specific questions about this double standard, but had told Public Eye and IBFAN that it “has reduced by 11% the total amount of added sugars in [its] infant cereal portfolio worldwide” over the past decade and that it would “further reduce the level of added sugars without compromising on quality, safety and taste”.
In Sri Lanka, when the Sunday Times contacted Nestle Lanka on these accusations against this multinational, a spokesperson stated: “We have been providing nutritious, tasty and safe products to Sri Lankans for over 115 years. Our products comply with all applicable local and international standards, and are based on the latest scientific guidelines, dietary recommendations, and applicable local regulations.
“The milk formulae sold by Nestlé Lanka do not contain added sugar (sucrose), and the Infant Cereal range is made from the goodness of cereals, milk, and fruits, tailored to the nutritional needs of growing children. Reduction of added sugar is a priority for Nestlé Lanka. Over the past three years, we have reduced added sugar (sucrose) by up to 15% in our Infant Cereal range.
“Nestlé Lanka remains committed to delivering the best nutrition to our consumers and will always maintain the highest standards of Nutrition, Quality and Safety in our products.”
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