Nestle's difficulties are escalating amid reports of sugar being mixed in baby food in India and other Asian countries. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has instructed FSSAI to investigate this matter.
According to Business Today, Secretary of Consumer Affairs Nidhi Khare has written a letter to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding this issue.
On Thursday, a report by Swiss investigative organization Public Eye claimed that Nestle India, along with several other Asian countries, adds sugar to its products.
While WHO guidelines suggest that sugar should not be included in food for children under 3 years old due to potential health impacts.
The report states that Nestle's baby food in the United States and Europe does not contain sugar, but the company includes sugar in its baby food products in India.
Notably, Nestle India's shares have dropped by 4.40% in the past two days, trading at Rs 2,435.95.
For the investigation into this matter, the government has written a letter to FSSAI. The report further states that Nestle has added sucrose or honey in samples of its milk formula brands, such as Nestle and Cerelac, for children aged one year and above.
The company is accused of adding 2.7 grams of sugar per serving (bowl) in Nestle Cerelac baby cereal sold in India, while sugar is not added in other countries like Germany, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom.
This revelation came to light when the Swiss organization Public Eye sent samples of baby food products sold in Asia, Africa, and Latin America for analysis to a lab in Belgium.
According to a report by Business Today, a spokesperson for Nestle India stated that they would like to assure you that our baby food products provide essential nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and iron. We never compromise on the nutritional quality of our products, nor will we ever.
The spokesperson further stated that reducing extra sugar is a priority for Nestle India. Over the past five years, we have already reduced extra sugar by up to 30 per cent. We regularly review our portfolio and make improvements to our products to reduce additional sugar without compromising on nutrition, quality, safety, and taste.