When it comes to baby food, international consumer goods boss Nestlé has the game on lock with parents around the world depending on the brand for their baby’s daily nutritional needs.
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But a new investigation reveals a discrepancy in its infant formula and cereal that is having a dangerous impact on Black and Brown babies and toddlers globally.
An investigation conducted by Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) called “How Nestlé Gets Children Hooked on Sugar in Lower-Income Countries,” found that the company’s biggest baby food brands promoted in low- and middle-income countries contain high levels of added sugar, while the products sold in Europe have none.
What makes this dangerous discrepancy even worse is that Nestlé continues to market these products as essential to baby’s development.
Nigel Rollins, a scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), calls Nestlé’s actions inappropriate. “There is a double standard here that can’t be justified,” he said, adding that the discrepancy in added sugar levels “is problematic both from a public health and ethical perspective.”
When they took a closer look at the ingredients in Nestlé’s infant cereals and formulas, Public Eye and the IBFAN found a glaring discrepancy in the amount of added sugar. Nestlé formulas for children aged 12 to 36 months sold in Germany, France and the U.K. have no added sugar. However, they found 5.3 grams of added sugar in its Nido powdered-milk product for kids the same age sold in Panama.
Meanwhile, its Cerelac wheat-based cereal for 6-month-olds sold in Germany and the U.K. has no added sugar, although the same product has more than five grams of added sugar per serving in Ethiopia and Thailand.
The company has enlisted the help of influencers like Johannesburg based mom @meganadonis to promote the products on social media as healthy and essential to a baby’s development.
U.K. health guidelines suggest kids under four stay away from food and drinks with added sugars to limit risk of weight gain and tooth decay. Here is the United States, the CDC suggests children under two stay away from food and drinks with added sugar.
All of this is happening as childhood obesity continues to be a growing problem in Africa. The World Health Organization reports the number of overweight children across the continent has grown approximately 23 percent since 2000.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to economics: Nestlé controls 20 percent of the baby food market – a stake worth $70 billion. Sales of Cerelac and Nido, the company’s best-selling baby-food brands in low- and middle-income countries, exceeded $2.5 billion in 2022, according to an analysis by Euromonitor.
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