ABUJA, NIGERIA – A recent investigative report by UK newspaper, The Guardian, has revealed that Nestlé, a notable consumer goods company, is adding sugars into baby formula and cereals placed in African markets.
The report further disclosed that one Cerelac variety sold in Nigeria contains up to 6.8g of sugar per serving. This is in contrast to the varieties sold in Europe, including the UK, where baby formulas contain no added sugar at all. The World Health Organisation is calling it a “double standard.”
Reacting to this disclosure, Gloria Okwu, a member of the National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) Coalition and Program Manager at Project Pink Blue, a cancer advocacy organisation, said, “Endangering the lives of children and exposing them to life-threatening illnesses is profiteering and criminal. Having different standards for producing baby formula for different populations is deceptive and discriminatory.”
In Nigeria, 29% of deaths are caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Countries like Nigeria still face a double burden of malnutrition, with undernutrition and obesity often existing side by side. Exposing children to high-sugar foods can encourage the early formation of dietary patterns that increase the risk of childhood obesity, without resolving issues of poor nutrition.
Ms. Okwu further said, “The lives of children all over the world matter, and it’s our collective responsibility to protect them from diseases and situations that could negatively alter their lives now or in the future. No wonder an increasing number of children develop diabetes and cancer earlier in life.”
In light of this report, the NASR, in an open letter, made three key demands as follows:
- Ensure that infant formula and cereal distributed in Nigeria contain no added sugar.
- Ensure the introduction of mandatory, clear warning labels to inform consumers of how much sugar, nutrients, and other agents are contained in all sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and ultra-processed food products in Nigeria.
- Ensure the increase in the sugar-sweetened beverage tax in line with global health recommendations and best practices to reduce consumption of harmful food products, and ensure that SSB tax revenue is invested in public health, especially the prevention and treatment of people living with non-communicable diseases such as diabetes.
The NASR is asking the Nigerian government to immediately strengthen regulations in line with these demands.