Swiss non-profit Public Eye has denounced what it calls Nestlé’s “harmful double standards”, which contribute to a rise in obesity and lead children to develop a lifelong preference for sugary products.
The report compares the sugar content of Cerelac instant cereal and Nido milk powder, two of Nestlé’s best-selling baby food brands in low- and middle-income countries, which earned more than 2.5 billion dollars in 2022.
In Thailand, Ethiopia, South Africa, India and Bangladesh, among others, Nestlé has added up to 6 grams of sugar per serving of Cerelac. The same brand was sold without sugar in Britain and Germany. Cerelac contained an average of 4 grams of sugar per serving – or about a cube of sugar – in the Global South. Cerelac sold in the Philippines contained the highest amount of added sugar, with 7.3 grams per serving.
In several countries, including the Philippines, Nigeria, Senegal, Vietnam and Pakistan, the added sugar content was not declared on the packaging.
In a statement released Monday, Nestlé said variations in sugar content from country to country depend on “several factors, including regulation and the availability of local ingredients, which may lead to offerings containing less added sugars, or even no added sugars.” The company added that this does not “compromise the nutritional value of our products intended for infants and young children.”
“In European countries, consumer pressure has pushed Nestlé to remove added sugar from its baby foods,” Laurent Gaberell and Manuel Abebe, Public Eye researchers involved in the report, wrote in an email to The Washington Post . “We regret that the company has nevertheless decided to continue adding sugar in low-income countries. »
The same trend was detected to a lesser extent in Nido products. An analysis by the brand showed that its products contained an average of 2 grams of added sugar per serving, with Nido items sold in Panama containing the most, at 5.3 grams per serving.
“Nestlé itself advises avoiding all added sugar at this age,” write Gaberell and Abebe. Nestlé states on its Brazilian website that it is ideal to avoid eating added sugar during childhood.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children under 2 years of age “should not be fed foods and beverages containing added sugars at all.”
The World Health Organization also advises parents and guardians not to add sugar to complementary foods for children 2 years of age or younger.
After the publication of the report, those responsible for India demanded an investigation into his main allegations. Bangladeshi authorities also said they would look into “the issue of added sugar in baby food,” according to a local report.
In the Philippines, a bill banning the addition of sugar to baby food is pending in the Senate. A spokesperson for the country’s health ministry expressed support for its adoption on Friday.
UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, is urging “governments to regulate the nutritional value” of these foods, said Roland Kupka, regional nutrition adviser for East Asia and the Pacific, in response to the report. The organization also called for a ban on added sugars and misleading marketing.
The findings are “disturbing,” Albert Domingo, a senior Philippine health department official, told the Post, “especially since the World Health Organization recommendation is apparently being followed in other countries.” .
Nestlé said it has reduced added sugars in its global infant cereal portfolio by 11 percent and is phasing out added sugars from its “growing up milk,” aimed at children aged 12 to 36 months.
The company added that it is “important to distinguish between added and total sugars in our products.” For example, total sugars can include lactose naturally found in milk or come from ingredients such as fruit, puree or honey.
Public Eye’s Gaberell and Abebe said added sugar “causes babies to develop a preference for foods that are too sweet, setting them up for a lifelong diet of highly processed foods.”
Regine Cabato in Manila contributed to this report.
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