Nestlé’s ‘double standards’ on sugary baby food

Nestlé is adding sugar to baby food tailored to the African market, according to a new investigation by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which has accused the company of “double standards” by not adhering to health standards applied to richer nations.

According to the report released on Tuesday by Public Eye, a Swiss group monitoring human rights violations by Swiss companies overseas, most of the samples it tested of Nestlé’s Cerelac infant cereals on sale in African countries contained added sugar, while equivalent products sold in Europe do not.

This runs counter to 2022 guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which warns that early exposure to sugar can create a lasting preference for sugary products and contribute to obesity in children.

In Switzerland, where the food-and-drink multinational company is headquartered, Nestlé’s main baby cereal brand is sold with zero added sugar. In other European markets, including Germany and the United Kingdom, where Cerelac baby cereals are also sold, all products for babies from six months onwards have no added sugar.

In an open letter sent to Nestlé chief executive Philipp Navratil on 17 November, 19 Africa-based civil society organisations say this demonstrated “double standards” and demand that the company halt the distribution of baby products with added sugar in Africa.

“If added sugar is not suitable for Swiss and European children, it is not suitable for children in Africa and beyond,” the letter reads.

“All babies have an equal right to healthy nutrition – regardless of their nationality or skin colour.”

Nestlé has denied any wrongdoing and says Public Eye’s report “contains misleading and unfounded allegations”.

“We do not have double standards, our approach to nutrition is consistent across all countries,” a spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “Nestlé is committed to the well-being of children everywhere in the world, and we treat all children equally, irrespective of where they are.”

The company says it offers versions of its cereals both with and without added sugar within the same price range in both Africa and Europe. It adds that it is “accelerating the rollout of no added sugar variants globally” and that these are already available in 97% of Nestlé’s markets, including across Africa. “We aim to reach 100% by the end of 2025,” the group says.

Childhood obesity on the rise in Africa

Childhood obesity is a rising concern in Africa, where the number of overweight children under five has nearly doubled since 1990, according to WHO. In most countries on the continent, malnutrition and obesity exist side by side, which the UN health agency describes as a “double burden” for the continent.

Public Eye says it collected nearly 100 Cerelac products sold in 20 countries in Africa and had them analysed by Inovalys, a laboratory specialising in the agri-food sector. The NGO’s investigation found that 90% of the samples it analysed contained added sugar.

On average, each analysed serving of Cerelac sold in Africa was found to contain nearly six grams of added sugar, equivalent to around one-and-a-half sugar cubes. The highest quantity detected – 7.5 grams per serving, almost two sugar cubes – was found in a Cerelac product for six-month-old babies being sold in Kenya.

These quantities are 50% higher than those found by Public Eye in a 2024 investigation in which it assessed products sold in Asia and Latin America, and twice those detected in India – the largest market for Cerelac products worldwide.

Nestlé told Al Jazeera that it had requested further details about Public Eye’s product analysis and methodologies, but had not yet received these.

Nestlé also says it adheres to strict labelling procedures. “The sugar content declared on our product packaging is based on rigorous assessments including via the use of reliable analytical methods by certified laboratories,” it says.

Following last year’s report, the Swiss multinational announced the introduction of 14 new Cerelac variants with no added sugar in India.

Cerelac infant cereals, which are among the most popular in Africa, are marketed by Nestlé as “specially designed to meet the nutritional needs” of babies on the continent.

Nestlé told Al Jazeera that while obesity is on the rise in Africa, affecting 5% of children under five, undernutrition is, in fact, “the most urgent health concern”.

“Regardless of geographical variations in recipes, we never compromise on the nutritional quality and safety of our products,” it adds.

However, the civil society groups which sent the letter to Navratil accuse the company of putting economic profit before people’s welfare.

“Let us be clear: by adding sugar to infant cereals, Nestlé is deliberately putting the health of African babies at risk for profit,” they say.

“This must end – now.” – Al Jazeera

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