Nestlé India says it will launch refined sugar-free Cerelac variant soon

NEW DELHI: Packaged food maker Nestlé India on Thursday said it will launch refined sugar-free variants of its Cerelac brand baby food, following reports that the Indian version of Cerelac has higher sugar content than similar products in other markets.

Announcing the company’s September quarter earnings, Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestlé India, said, “We have achieved our ambition to launch Cerelac varieties without refined sugar. This was started three years ago… Expanded Cerelac in India The range will now include 21 variants, 14 of which are free of refined sugar. Of these 14 variants, seven will be available by the end of November 2024, with the remainder to be launched in the following weeks. “

The added sugar controversy

This follows a report in April by Swiss investigative group Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) that said Nestlé added sugar to its Cerelac products in India and other developing markets, but Nestlé did not This is not done in the EU and UK. Public Eye examined 115 products sold under the Cerelac and Nodi brands in Nestlé’s key markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The study found that Cerelac products sold in India contained an average of 2.7 grams of added sugar per serving.

Following the report, the company claimed to have reduced added sugar by 30% in its infant cereal range in India over the past five years. Later in April, Narayanan said Cerelac met the standards set by India’s food regulator. “There is no local approach to developing nutritional adequacy strategies. This is done globally… There is no difference between children in Europe, India or anywhere else in the world,” he said.

Nestlé has been selling Cerelac products in India for 50 years. The first batch of products was produced on September 15, 1975 at the factory in Moga, Punjab.