Nestlé Faces Criticism For Selling Sugary Baby Food In South Africa While Healthier Options Go Abroad

Image credit: Reuters/Denis Balibouse

In April 2024, Public Eye also reported that Nestlé sold sugary baby food in lower-income countries while reserving healthier formulations for wealthier countries.

"Blatant double standard"

Laboratory tests of Nestlé’s Cerelac range found that 90% of products sold across Africa contain added sugar.

In South Africa, three in four Cerelac products tested included added sugar, averaging 4.9 grams per serving — more than a teaspoon — in products marketed for babies as young as six months.

Some variants contained as much as 5.2 grams per serving.

Equivalent products in Germany and the United Kingdom contain none.

“This is corporate hypocrisy at its worst,” said Nzama Mbalati from HEALA.

“Nestlé knows full well that added sugar harms infants, yet continues to dump sugary products on African babies.

“It’s a blatant double standard that treats African children’s health as less important.”

HEALA says that the World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that baby foods should contain no added sugar, as early exposure increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases later in life.

Reuters reported that it could not immediately verify the findings.

Nestlé, meanwhile, said the levels of all types of added sugars in its infant cereals were well below those set by the international food standards body, Codex Alimentarius.

“It is misleading and scientifically inaccurate to refer to the sugars coming from the cereals and naturally present in fruits as refined sugars added to the products,” a Nestlé spokesperson said.

“If we exclude sugars coming from ingredients like milk, cereals and fruit, our Cerelac infant cereals do not contain the levels of added refined sugars mentioned in the report.”

“We do not have double standards; our approach to nutrition is consistent across all countries,” Nestlé said in a statement.

“We treat all children equally, regardless of where they are.”

Childhood obesity

South Africa faces one of the world’s highest childhood obesity rates.

“South Africa has experienced a dramatic surge in overweight and obesity in children under five,” says Lori Lake, communication and education specialist at the Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town.

Lake adds that rates nearly doubled from 13% in 2016 to 22% in 2022 — with one in four young children now overweight or obese — and this is more than four times higher than the global average.

“We need to ask ourselves, if Nestlé is really committed to optimal health and nutrition, then why are they continuing to add extra sugar to their infant cereal – and to what extent are they helping to fuel an epidemic of non-communicable disease in South Africa,” she explains.

According to Lake, adding sugar to infant cereals acts like a gateway drug, helping establish a lifelong preference for sugary foods that then increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and other NCDs later in life.

Immediate action

HEALA says that despite acknowledging that high sugar intake poses serious health risks for children, Nestlé continues to promote Cerelac as a “nutritious” and “balanced” product on its South African website.

The group also claims that the company pays local influencers to endorse Cerelac online.

It’s calling on Nestlé South Africa and the Department of Health to take immediate action.

“Remove added sugar from all baby and toddler foods; enforce strong, mandatory front-of-package warning labels; and introduce strict regulations to stop misleading marketing practices targeting parents and caregivers,” said HEALA in a media statement.

Nestlé said it was accelerating the global rollout of no-added-sugar variants, which are already available in 97% of the company's markets.

"We aim to reach 100% by the end of 2025," Nestlé said.