Jaipur, April 18, 2024.
Global food and beverage giant Nestle sells baby products with higher sugar content in poorer south Asian (including India), African and Latin American countries as compared to markets in Europe, claims a report by a Swiss NGO, Public Eye and International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). Around 150 baby products sold in different counties were scrutinised for the report, which was published by The Guardian. A Belgian laboratory tested the samples, which were found to be over and above international food safety guidelines.
The report claims that its wheat-based product, Cerelac, for six-month babies, which is sold without any added sugars in the UK and Germany, contained 2.7 grams of added sugar per serving in India. The highest sugar content in the product was 6 grams in Thailand.
The 15 Cerelac products analysed from India contained 2.7 grams of added sugar per serving on average. The sugar content was declared on the packaging in India. The highest sugar content was found to be 7.3 grams in five out of eight samples tested from the Philippines, where the information was not even declared on the packaging, the report said.