Nestle says an extra bit of sugar in Cerelac won’t harm the baby

Nestle India has sought to defend the extra sugar in its baby food `Cerelac’ sold in India, blaming it on the guidelines prescribed by regulators in this country versus regulators in other countries.

Nestle has been accused of adding extra sugar to cereals in the preparation of its weaning food `Cerelac’ which mothers across the country use because of the ease of preparation.

Nestle seems to have added extra sugar to make it attractive for infants as Indian law permits use of larger proportions of sugar in food preparations unlike other countries, especially those in the West.  

In fact, Nestle India chairman Suresh Narayanan said the sugar content in Cerelac is 7.1 grams per 100 grams of feed, which is much lower than the upper limit of 13.6 grams per 100 grams prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

He also tried to understate the long-term effects of overusing sugar, saying that a bit of added sugar does not pose any potential risk or harm to the child.

Narayanan tried to articulate his defence saying that the use of added sugar in infant foods is based on an assessment of the nutrition profile of a particular age group.

He said the company makes no distinction between a child in Europe or India or in any other part of the world, but failed to explain why it uses sugar in varying proportions in South Asia and Europe.

Nestle’s defence comes after a report claimed that Nestle’s two best-selling baby-food brands, including infant milk and cereal product Cerelac,  contain high levels of added sugar, which has led to parents resorting to alternative baby foods.

In South Africa, Nestle’s main market in Africa, Cerelac baby cereals contain 4 grams or more of added sugar per serving while Cerelac sold in the Philippines and Nigerian markets have the highest added sugar of over 6.8 g per serving. This is nearly 6 grams in Ethiopia and Thailand and 3 grams per serving in Brazil, as per the report.

Surprisingly, the report is based on the findings by Swiss NGO, Public Eye and International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) that Nestle sold baby food with higher sugar content in South Asian countries, including India.

FSSAI, meanwhile, has woken up to the controversy and initiated sampling of Nestle’s products across the country, following concerns raised by the ministry of consumer affairs and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights taking note of the report.