Swiss food firm’s infant formula and cereal sold in global south ignore WHO anti-obesity guidelines for Europe, says Public Eye

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14389267

Nestlé adds sugar to infant milk sold in poorer countries, report finds

Swiss food firm’s infant formula and cereal sold in global south ignore WHO anti-obesity guidelines for Europe, says Public Eye

Nestlé, the world’s largest consumer goods company, adds sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries, contrary to international guidelines aimed at preventing obesity and chronic diseases, a report has found.

Campaigners from Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, sent samples of the Swiss multinational’s baby-food products sold in Asia, Africa and Latin America to a Belgian laboratory for testing.

The results, and examination of product packaging, revealed added sugar in the form of sucrose or honey in samples of Nido, a follow-up milk formula brand intended for use for infants aged one and above, and Cerelac, a cereal aimed at children aged between six months and two years.

In Nestlé’s main European markets, including the UK, there is no added sugar in formulas for young children. While some cereals aimed at older toddlers contain added sugar, there is none in products targeted at babies between six months and one year.

  • Yer Ma
    7•7 months ago

    This is enfamil. I had a hard time finding formula two years ago that didn’t have corn syrup as the primary ingredient.

    • @taiyang
      3•7 months ago

      Huh, I wonder if it’s regional. I think the other option around here is Similac which I don’t think has it but I’m not sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gerber has it, though I don’t think it’s even carried here anymore.

      I don’t trust any corporation but I do know there are some regulations in place to help, at least with the infant stuff. (We used Enfamil two years ago too with my first born, in the height of the formula shortage, but the recipe doesn’t seem to have changed).

      • Yer Ma
        2•7 months ago

        I think it is mostly in any formula that claims to be “gentle” or “easy to digest”. I live in a rual area and during the shortage I had to go to multiple stores to find something that wasn’t corn syrup.

        Here is an interesting study related to the use of corn syrup vs lactose: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8912730/

        • @taiyang
          3•7 months ago

          Ah I also looked into it, and I think you’re right. In particular, lactose free ones especially use it. Emfamil swears it’s corn syrup solids but I don’t really trust that from their website.

          And wow, that must have been rough. In the city it was still bad but I had lots of family and friends looking for spare powders and only once did we resort to the “easy to digest” one. Scary times, though…