Read Time: 4 minutes
Experts say there can be long-term health consequences for babies and infants who consume too much sugar at a young age.
May 3, 2024,
By Maya Eaglin
In Switzerland, the label of Nestlé’s Cerelac baby cereal says it contains “no added sugar.” But in Senegal and South Africa, the same product has 6 grams of added sugar per serving, according to a recent Public Eye investigation. And in the Philippines, one serving of a version of the Cerelac cereal for babies 1 to 6 months old contains a whopping 7.3 grams of added sugar, the equivalent of almost two teaspoons.
This “double standard” for how Nestlé creates and markets its popular baby food brands around the world was alleged in a report from Public Eye, an independent nonpartisan Swiss-based investigative organization, and International Baby Food Action Network.
The groups allege that Nestlé adds sugars and honey to some of its baby cereal and formula in lower-income countries, while products sold in Europe and other countries are advertised with “no added sugars.” The disparities uncovered in the report, which was published in the BMJ in April, has raised alarms among global health experts.
Nestlé said on its website, “We have reduced the sugar in many of our infant cereals. While there are added sugars in some, we are making progress towards reducing this further, as well as providing more options without added sugar.”
Public Eye sent 115 baby food products under the Cerelac and Nido brands marketed by the food giant in Africa, Asia and Latin America for lab testing. The investigation found that 94% of them had added sugar.
“For 67 of these products, we were able to determine the amount of added sugar. On average, there are almost 4 grams per serving, or about a [cube] of sugar,” according to the report.
Finding a laboratory to test the global food samples was difficult, said Public Eye researcher Laurent Gaberell.
“All the labs that we approached in Switzerland refused to work with us on the project because they feared that this project could have a negative impact on their customers,” Gaberell said. “So we had to do the work with a lab that is based in Belgium.”
Nestlé is the parent company for popular baby food brands like Cerelac and Nido. The company reports its infant nutrition products were the “largest growth contributor” out of any other category in 2023, contributing to its $11.2 billion net profit.
Gaberell said the levels of added sugar ignore international guidance on nutrition for children and infants.
“There’s really consensus that there’s no place at all for sugar in baby food,” he said.
In the European Region, the World Health Organization guidelines state that no added sugar should be used in foods for infants under the age of 3.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has launched an independent investigation into Nestlé after the report was published according to Reuters.
According to FSSAI’s website, “Sucrose and/or fructose shall not be added, unless needed as a carbohydrate source, and provided the sum of these does not exceed 20 per cent of total carbohydrate.”
And the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control in Nigeria released a statement in response to the report that said the Nestlé products in the country do adhere to their standards.
“All our infant formula products for babies under 12 months of age do not contain added sugars,” Nestlé said on its website, “For the so-called growing up milks (GUMs), for children aged between 1 and 3 years, we started to phase out added sugars some time ago and the vast majority of these products do not contain refined sugar. We aim to reach 100% by the end of 2024.”
WHO scientist Nigel Rollins told the Public Eye researchers, “Such a double standard is unjustifiable.”
A spokesperson for Nestlé told NBC News that the company is working on reducing added sugars worldwide and offers sugar-free products in several countries.
On its website Nestlé says, “Our products comply with all applicable local and/or international regulations.”
They also responded with a statement saying: “Supporting the right nutritional start to life is fundamental to who we are and how we operate. All our early life foods and milks are nutritionally balanced as defined in the commonly accepted scientific guidelines and dietary recommendations, including CODEX.”
Codex Alimentarius is a collection of international food standards and guidance developed in partnership with the WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Experts say there can be long-term health consequences for babies and infants who consume too much sugar at a young age.
“We have decreased the amount of sugar recommendations in especially young toddlers and children, because we know that we’re in a crisis of obesity, not only in this country but around the world. And we find that increasing sugar in our liquid products is really helping to increase the issues with the obesity crisis,” pediatrician Dr. Sara Siddiqui from NYU Langone Health said.
Creating healthy eating habits from a young age is essential, she said.
“It is really important to start off young and try to decrease our relationship with sugar because it does have some addictive qualities to it, and it can change your brain,” Siddiqui said.
Siddiqui said that monetary stressors might also be influencing parents to continue buying added sugar formulas and baby cereals that their children appear to like.
“In some developing countries and even here in the US where you have people that may be not doing well financially, they don’t want to waste the product once they buy it,” Siddiqui said. “So if your child is going to drink the drink that’s, you know, sweeter to them, they’ll finish that product and then you won’t feel like you’re wasting your funds or your resources.”
Siddiqui encouraged parents to be kind to themselves.
“My advice is always, you know, give yourself some grace. You’re a parent and it’s hard,” Siddiqui said. “It’s always best to read the ingredients, do the best that you can, and make sure that you’re also trying to model the behavior that you would like to see in your children.”
Gaberell’s solutions include educating local communities about their traditional methods of infant nutrition and demanding that Nestlé stop producing all infant products with added sugar.
“You did it in Switzerland, you can do it worldwide,” Gaberell said.
A must-read for anyone interested in the subject.
This article is a cut above the rest.
An excellent synthesis of ideas.
This article was a fantastic read! I appreciate the depth of information and the clear, concise way it was presented. It’s evident that a lot of research and expertise went into crafting this post, and it really shines through in the quality of the content. I particularly found the first and last sections to be incredibly insightful. It sparked a few thoughts and questions I’d love to explore further. Could you elaborate more on next time? Also, if you have any recommended resources for further reading on this topic, I’d be grateful. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and contributing to a deeper understanding of this subject! I dedicated time to make a comment on this post immidiately after reading it, keep up the good work and i will be checking back again for more update. i appreciate the effort to write such a fantastic piece.
ดูเว็บโป๊ ไทยคุณภาพที่คัดสรรหนังXมาอย่างดีไม่มีโฆษณาแบบ Porn Hd โป๊จากทั่วโลกอย่าง beeg hqporner pornhub xvideos xnxx xhamster tube8 ที่ไม่ทำให้ผู้ชมทุก ดูหนังโป๊ และไม่ได้มีแค่นั้นเรายังมี คลิปโป๊ vk 18+ onlyfans จากทางกลุ่มลับที่หาดูยากรวมทั้ง เกย์ เลสเบี้ยน สาวสอง ทอมดี้ ควย ที่คอยรองรับทุกท่าน อีกทั้งเรายังรับประกันความดูก่อนใครโดยชมผ่านเว็บ ดูหนังโป๊ หี ดูหนังโป๊ฟรี เว็บไซต์ดูหนังโป๊ออนไลน์ยอดนิยม สามารถรับชมผ่านมือถือและคอมพิวเตอร์ได้ หนังโป๊ หนัง18+ หนังโป๊เด็ก เย็ดสด
Its like you read my mind You appear to know so much about this like you wrote the book in it or something I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a little bit but other than that this is fantastic blog A great read Ill certainly be back
ดูหนังโป๊ หนังเอ็ก หนังโป๊ฟรี หนังX หนังAV คลิปโป๊ XXX หี ควย | Teeneeweb.com ดูเว็บโป๊ beeg hqporner pornhub xvideos xnxx xhamster tube8 ดูหนังโป๊ และไม่ได้มีแค่นั้นเรายังมี คลิปโป๊ vk 18+ onlyfans เกย์ เลสเบี้ยน สาวสอง ทอมดี้ ที่คอยรองรับทุกท่าน ดูหนังโป๊ โป๊ของเรา หนังโป๊เด็กเย็ดสด
Keepyourspirit
You’remarvelous
Nicework
Superb
Thisarticleisagemamidsttheseaofcontent.
When someone writes an article he/she maintains the plan of a user
in his/her mind that how a user can know it.
Thus that’s why this piece of writing is outstdanding.
Thanks!
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after
reading through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
Nonetheless, I’m definitely glad I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back frequently!
Awesome blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers?
I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally
overwhelmed .. Any suggestions? Cheers!
Have you ever thought about including a little bit more than just your articles?
I mean, what you say is valuable and everything. However think of if you
added some great pictures or videos to give your posts
more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with
images and clips, this blog could definitely be one of the very best in its field.
Good blog!
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up and also the
rest of the site is also really good.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on website.
Regards
Today, while I was at work, my cousin stole my apple ipad and
tested to see if it can survive a twenty five foot drop,
just so she can be a youtube sensation. My apple ipad
is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is
totally off topic but I had to share it with someone!
If you desire to get much from this piece of writing
then you have to apply such techniques to your won blog.
I used to be able to find good info from your content.
Appreciate the recommendation. Let me try it out.
Sweet blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News. Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Appreciate it
You are my inspiration, I own few web logs and often run out from brand :). “Truth springs from argument amongst friends.” by David Hume.
I really enjoy studying on this website , it has got superb blog posts.
I discovered your blog site on google and check a few of your early posts. Continue to keep up the very good operate. I just additional up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. Seeking forward to reading more from you later on!…
Thanx for the effort, keep up the good work Great work, I am going to start a small Blog Engine course work using your site I hope you enjoy blogging with the popular BlogEngine.net.Thethoughts you express are really awesome. Hope you will right some more posts.
I got what you mean , appreciate it for putting up.Woh I am pleased to find this website through google.
Great write-up, I?¦m normal visitor of one?¦s blog, maintain up the nice operate, and It’s going to be a regular visitor for a lengthy time.
Hey very nice site!! Man .. Excellent .. Superb .. I will bookmark your site and take the feeds also…I am glad to seek out numerous helpful info here in the put up, we need develop extra techniques in this regard, thank you for sharing.