Nestlé adds 3 grams of sugar per serving of Cerelac sold in India: report

New Delhi:

Nestlé India’s two best-selling baby food brands are high in added sugar, while such products are sugar-free in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and other developed countries, according to a survey by Nestlé India. public eye. Nestlé, the world’s largest consumer goods company, added sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products in several countries, violating international guidelines aimed at preventing obesity and chronic diseases, the report said. Breaches were found only in Asian, African and Latin American countries.

The findings revealed that in India, all 15 Cerelac baby products contained an average of nearly 3 grams of sugar per serving. The same product sold in Germany and the UK had no added sugar, while in Ethiopia and Thailand it contained nearly 6 grams of sugar, the study said.

Nutritional information on the packaging of such products often doesn’t even disclose the amount of added sugar.

“While Nestlé uses idealized images to highlight the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients contained in its products, it is not transparent when it comes to added sugars,” the report said.

In 2022, Nestle sold Cerelac products worth over Rs 20,000 crore in India.

Experts say adding sugar to baby products is dangerous and unnecessary because sugar is highly addictive.

“This is a big problem,” said Rodrigo Vianna, an epidemiologist and professor at the Department of Nutrition at the Federal University of Paraiba in Brazil. “Sugars should not be added to the food of infants and young children because it is not Necessary and highly addictive.”

“Children become accustomed to sweet tastes and begin to seek out more sugary foods, thus starting a vicious cycle that increases the risk of nutritional diseases in adult life. These diseases include obesity and other chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes or hypertension stress ,” he added.

However, a Nestlé India spokesperson said that they comply with all local regulations and international standards and have reduced the amount of added sugar in their infant cereal range by up to 30% in the past five years.

“Over the past five years, Nestlé India has reduced added sugars by up to 30 per cent across our infant cereals portfolio (milk-based cereal-based complementary foods), depending on the variety,” the spokesperson told LiveMint ”