Union health minister JP Nadda dismissed allegations made by Swiss NGO that Nestle’s wheat-based baby product Cerelac sold in India contained 2.7 grams of added sugar. During the winter session in the Parliament, Nadda said that sugar found in Cerelac is at par with limits specified in both domestic rules and the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) international food standards.
He informed the house that an inspection was carried out by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at Cerelac’s manufacturing units in April this year. India’s food regulator found that added sugar contained in the baby product is adherence to 2020 food safety standards, he added.
“Suo moto cognizance was taken by food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) about a report by the Swiss NGO regarding added sugar in wheat-based baby product,” the health ministry said in its reply. “Based on scrutiny of the product, added sugar per serving was found to be in compliance with the provisions under Food Safety and Standards (Food for Infant Nutrition) Regulations, 2020,” the ministry added.
The regulator’s move followed the concern raised by Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi. She flagged issues based on the Swiss NGO’s accusation that the same product sold in countries like the UK and Germany doesn’t contain any added sugar.
After the Swiss NGO’s report surfaced and issue was highlighted in various media reports. The company announced that its plan to launch variants of Cerelac for infants with no refined sugar.
During the September quarter earnings call, Nestle India’s chairman and MD, Suresh Narayanan, had announced that the company will expand the range of Cerelac in India to 21 variants and out of those, 14 will have no refined sugar.
“We have achieved our ambition of introducing Cerelac variants with no refined sugar. This was initiated three years ago...Of these 14 variants, seven will be available by the end of November 2024 and the rest will be introduced in the following weeks,” said Narayanan.
While on a year-to-date basis, the shares of the FMCG giant have struggled to remain in the positive territory, delivering a negative return of over 20 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
