21/04/2024
In a shocking case of hypocrisy, reports found that Nestle an International Swiss Brand known for its baby formula and other edible products uses added sugars in baby food like Cerelac, very widely used around the world. The added sugar can be found only in the products sold in poor or developing countries of Asia and Africa. Campaigners from Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, sent samples of the Swiss multinational’s baby-food products sold in Asia, Africa and Latin America to a Belgian laboratory for testing, The results, and examination of product packaging, revealed added sugar in the form of sucrose or honey in samples of Nido, a follow-up milk formula brand intended for use for infants aged one and above, and Cerelac, a cereal aimed at children aged between six months and two years.
What is more shocking is that the products sold in European markets do not have any added sugar, following the guidelines set by WHO, which bars producer companies from adding any sugar to food materials aimed at consumption by children under 2 years, this was a step taken to curb the rise of obesity and diabetes.
Laurent Gaberell, Public Eye’s agriculture and nutrition expert, said: “Nestlé 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.”