Nestle accused of risking babies’ health in Africa.
New report claims Swiss food giant is ‘putting the health of babies at risk for profit’ by adding sugar to babyfood.
Nestle is adding sugar to baby food tailored to the African market, according to a new investigation by a nongovernment organisation (NGO), which has accused the company of “double standards” by not adhering to health standards applied to richer nations.
According to the report, released on Tuesday by Public Eye, a Swiss group monitoring human rights violations by Swiss companies overseas, most of the samples it tested of Nestle’s Cerelac infant cereals on sale in African countries contained added sugar, while equivalent products sold in Europe do not.
This runs counter to 2022 guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), which warns that early exposure to sugar can create a lasting preference for sugary products and contribute to obesity in children.
In Switzerland, where the food-and-drink multinational company is headquartered, Nestle’s main baby cereal brand is sold with zero added sugar. In other European markets, including Germany and the United Kingdom, where Cerelac baby cereals are also sold, all products for babies from six months onwards have no added sugar
In an open letter (PDF) sent to Nestle CEO Philipp Navratil on November 17, 19 Africa-based civil society organisations said this demonstrated “double standards” and demanded that the company halt the distribution of baby products with added sugar in Africa. “If added sugar is not suitable for Swiss and European children, it is not suitable for children in Africa and beyond,” the letter reads.
“All babies have an equal right to healthy nutrition – regardless of their nationality or skin color.”
Nestle has denied any wrongdoing and said Public Eye’s report “contains misleading and unfounded allegations”.
“We do not have double standards, our approach to nutrition is consistent across all countries,” a spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “Nestle is committed to the wellbeing of children everywhere in the world, and we treat all children equally, irrespective of where they are.”
The company said it offers versions of its cereals both with and without added sugar within the same price range in both Africa and Europe. It added that it is “accelerating the rollout of no added sugars variants globally” and that these are already available in 97 percent of Nestle’s markets, including across Africa. “We aim to reach 100 percent by the end of 2025,” the group said.
~Al Jazeera