Nestle’s Best Seller Cerelac Has High Sugar Level

A report by a Swiss NGO, Public Eye, and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) claims that Nestle, a global food and beverage giant, sells baby products with higher sugar content in India, Africa, and Latin America compared to European markets. The report scrutinized around 150 baby products sold in various countries. Samples tested by a Belgian laboratory found that the sugar content exceeded international food safety guidelines. For instance, Nestle's wheat-based product, Cerelac, designed for six-month-old babies, is sold without added sugars in the UK and Germany. However, in India, it contained 2.7 grams of added sugar per serving, with the highest content reaching 6 grams in Thailand. In India, where the sugar content was declared on the packaging, the 15 Cerelac products analyzed had an average of 2.7 grams of added sugar per serving. The report highlighted that in the Philippines, five out of eight samples had the highest sugar content at 7.3 grams, with no information provided on the packaging. A spokesperson for Nestle India responded, stating, “We believe in the nutritional quality of our products for early childhood and prioritize using high-quality ingredients. Over the past five years, Nestlé India has reduced added sugars by up to 30 per cent, depending on the variant, in our infant cereals portfolio (milk cereal-based complementary food). We regularly review our portfolio and continue to innovate and reformulate our products to further reduce the level of added sugars without compromising on quality, safety, and taste.” Watch Siddharth Zarabi, Managing Editor of Business Today TV, in conversation with Dr Arun Gupta, Paediatrician; Convener, Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi), Prof. Bejon Misra, Consumer Policy Expert, KS Narayanan, Principal Consultant – Food Processing Sector, Nexdigm and Revant Himatsingka, Health Influencer