Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, sent samples of Nestlé baby-food products sold in Asia, Africa and Latin America to a Belgian laboratory for testing. The laboratory found in many cases that baby formula with no added sugar sold in Switzerland, Germany, France and the UK contained unhealthy levels of sugar when sold in countries such as the Philippines, South Africa and Thailand. As the Public Eye investigation revealed, one example of this is Nestlé’s biscuit-flavoured cereals for babies aged six months and older: in Senegal and South Africa they contain 6g of added sugar. In Switzerland, where Nestlé is based, the same product has none. In South Africa, Nestlé promotes its wheat cereal Cerelac as a source of 12 essential vitamins and minerals under the theme “little bodies need big support”. Yet all Cerelac products sold in this country contain high levels of added sugar. Obesity is increasingly a problem in low- and middle-income countries. In Africa, the number of overweight children under five has increased by nearly 23% since 2000. The World Health Organization has called for a ban on added sugar in products for babies and young children under three years of age.
SOURCE: WASHINGTON POST | THE CONVERSATION