Swiss food firm’s infant formula and cereal sold in global south ignore WHO anti-obesity guidelines for Europe, says Public Eye
Nestlé, the world’s largest consumer goods company, adds sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries, contrary to international guidelines aimed at preventing obesity and chronic diseases, a report has found.
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.
In Nestlé’s main European markets, including the UK, there is no added sugar in formulas for young children. While some cereals aimed at older toddlers contain added sugar, there is none in products targeted at babies between six months and one year.
That’s surprisingly hard to do. Nestlé produces 35% of the products in a North American grocery store.
It looks hard, in practice it is not. I haven’t knowingly purchased a Nestle product in over decade. Mistakes happen now and again, but when they do I add that brand to my mental list and move on.
Where it gets confusing is international brand ownership differences. For example, Cheerios is still made and distributed by General Mills in North America, but by Nestle in most of the rest of the world.
I felt so betrayed the other day when I looked at my San Pellegrino and saw it was a Nestlé company.
As of now, the only product I have to buy to support this atrocious company is Fancy Feast because it’s the only food my picky senior cat will eat.
You’re feeding your cat the equivalent of potato chips. No shit it’s all they want to eat lol
Edit: I can’t read. See below
I switched to Gerolsteiner and never looked back. It’s amazing.
And Perrier, because why have one competing brand when you could have all of them
