Nestlé’s baby food brands including Cerelac and Nido added sugar in the form of sucrose, in lower and lower-middle income countries including India — but not in the products sold in Europe or UK, according to a report by Swiss investigative organisation Public Eye and International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN).
The research was conducted at a lab in Belgium, and examined Nestlé’s baby food products from Asia, and Africa branded as Cerelac, Nido, Mucilon and Dancow. These contained an average of 3 grams per serving, and in some cases up to 6 grams. Similar products tested in the European markets showed no added sugar. A Nestlé India spokesperson has attested that the company has reduced the sugar content in the baby product portfolio by 30% over the past five years, NDTV reported. In 2022, the sales on these products exceeded Rs.20,000 crore in India alone.
Nestlé has been under the scanner in the past for similar violations in several African countries. Reports from the 1970s raised the alarms on their unethical marketing practices in an effort to push artificial feeding over breastfeeding.
