Nestle adds sugar to infant milt and cereal products sold in India and several other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, violating international norms, according to a study.
The revelation came after Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, and International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) sent samples of Nestle baby food products in Asia, Africa and Latin America to Belgian laboratary for testing.
According to the investigation, 15 Cerelac baby cereal products sold in India contain added sugar amounting to nearly 3 grams per serving. In 2022, the company made a revenue of Rs 20,000 crore in India.
In Brazil, six of the Cerelac (known locally as Mucilon) products contained around 4 gram sugar per serving. In Ethiopia, it went up to 5 grams while in Thailand it was an alarming 6 grams for each serving. In Nigeria, one of the products contained up to 6.8 gram sugar. The amount of added sugar is reportedly not mentioned in the packaging of these products.
Contrary to this, the cereals for children aged six months to two years sold by Nestle in European countries like the UK, France and Germany had no added sugar.
Laurent Gaberell, Public Eye’s agriculture and nutrition expert, said: “Nestle must put an end to these dangerous double standards and stop adding sugar in all products for children under three years old, in every part of the world.”
Experts have warned that adding sugar to baby products can lead to obesity at a young age and chronic diseases at later stages in life.
A Nestle India spokesperson, quoted by Times Now, said the company has followed all local regulations and international standards.
