Nestlé, the world’s largest infant food company, adds sugar to infant milk in low and middle-income nations, but not in its markets in Europe and the UK. Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, and IBFAN (International Baby Food Action Network) tested samples of the company’s infant food items offered in Asia, Africa, and Latin America at a laboratory in Belgium. Cerelac baby cereals in India, with sales exceeding $250 million in 2022, contain approximately 3 grams of added sugar per serving.
According to a Public Eye investigation report titled: “Sugar: for Nestlé, not all babies are equal” published on Wednesday (17th April), Nestle’s Cerelac wheat-based cereals for six-month-old babies in Germany, France, and the UK contain no added sugar. However, the same product has over 5 grams per serving in Ethiopia and 6 grams in Thailand.
Not all babies are equal: No added sugar in European countries, sugar for low/middle-income countries
The report said that the highest amount of added sugar was found in a Nestlé product in the Philippines which contained 7.3 grams per serving. However, the same products were sold without added sugar in Switzerland and other European countries.
“Almost all the Cerelac infant cereals examined contain added sugar – nearly 4 grams per serving on average, equal to roughly a sugar cube – although they are targeted at babies from six months of age. The highest amount – 7.3 grams per serving – was detected in a product sold in the Philippines. Most of the Nido powdered-milk products for young children from one to three years old examined also contain added sugar – almost two grams per serving on average. The maximum value (5.3 grams) was detected in a product sold in Panama. In Switzerland and in Nestlé’s main European markets, such products are sold without added sugar,” the Public Eye report says.
The findings revealed that in India, all 15 Cerelac baby products contain an average of roughly 3 grams of sugar per serving. In addition to Nestlé’s alarming double standards, the Public Eye investigation says that the amount of added sugar is often not indicated in the nutritional information provided on the packaging of these products.
“In India, where sales surpassed $250 million in 2022, all Cerelac baby cereals contain added sugar, on average nearly 3 grams per serving. The same situation prevails in South Africa, the main market on the African continent, where all Cerelac baby cereals contain four grams or more of added sugar per serving. In Brazil, the world’s second-largest market, with sales of around $150 million in 2022, three-quarters of Cerelac baby cereals (known as Mucilon in the country) contain added sugar, on average 3 grams per serving,” the Public Eye report adds.
In Bangladesh, the added per serving (in grams) of Cerelac was found to be 3.3 grams. The added sugar level is stated on the packaging, but the associated risks are glossed over. In India and Pakistan, it was 2.7g, but no disclosure was found on the tested package from Nestlé. Nigeria has the highest concentration (6.8g), followed by Senegal and Vietnam.
While the company emphasises that its products are “without added sucrose,” they do contain sugar in the form of honey. However, the WHO classifies honey and sucrose as sugar that should not be added to baby food. They can cause weight gain or even obesity.
Nestlé’s double standard, a form of colonisation
Questioning Nestlé’s double standard, Karen Hofman, Professor of Public Health at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and a qualified paediatrician told Public Eye, “I do not understand why products for sale in South Africa should be different from those that are sold in high-income settings. It is a form of colonisation and should not be tolerated. There is no valid reason to add sugar to baby food anywhere.”
Meanwhile, a Nestlé India spokesperson stated that the company complies with all local and international standards and has already decreased added sugars across its infant cereal range by up to 30% in the past five years.
