Campaigners say Nestlé is putting African infants at risk by selling baby cereals with added sugar. Swiss watchdog Public Eye, working with activists in more than 20 African countries, purchased 94 samples of Cerelac products labelled for infants from six months and up and sent them to laboratory analysis. More than 90 percent of the samples contained added sugar, averaging roughly 6 grams per serving, about one and a half teaspoons. Measured levels ranged from about 5 grams per serving in products found in Egypt, Madagascar, South Africa, Malawi and Nigeria to about 7.5 grams in a product sold in Kenya.
Most of the few sugar-free variants were imported items originally intended for European markets, apart from two recently launched versions in South Africa. The findings arrive amid rising childhood obesity across Africa and follow World Health Organization guidance that children under three should not be given foods with added sugars, because early exposure may promote lifelong sweet preferences and increase risks of diet-related diseases.
This report builds on an April 2024 investigation by Public Eye that alleged Nestlé had added sugar and honey to infant milks and cereals sold in Asia, Africa and Latin America while similar products sold in wealthier countries contained no added sugar. Nestlé said at the time it planned to roll out Cerelac varieties without added sugar across its markets, a move campaigners described as too slow and insufficient.
Twelve African civil society and consumer organisations wrote to Nestlé chief executive Philipp Navratil accusing the company of intentionally offering less healthy options to children on the continent and warning that added sugars in infant foods could contribute to a preventable public health crisis as diet-related illnesses spread.
Nestlé rejected Public Eye’s conclusions as misleading. Peggy Diby, global head of corporate affairs for Nestlé Nutrition, said the allegations conflict with the company’s values and noted that recipes comply with national regulations. She argued that palatability matters in combating malnutrition and that infants must accept complementary foods to avoid growth problems. Nestlé also disputed aspects of the testing, saying Public Eye had not shared its raw data and suggesting some measured sugars could be naturally occurring from milk, cereals or fruit. The company added that the sugar levels fall well below international safety and quality thresholds in the Codex Alimentarius.
Dr Sara Colombo Mottaz, global head of medical, regulatory and scientific affairs at Nestlé Nutrition, highlighted the role of fortified cereals in delivering micronutrients such as iron and pointed to internal limits on added sugars. She said infants are already exposed to sweet tastes before and during breastfeeding, and that offering acceptable flavours can ease the transition to solids.
Campaigners remain unconvinced, arguing that added sugars in infant cereals encourage unhealthy taste preferences and raise the risk of overweight and related diseases. They continue to call on Nestlé to remove all added sugar from infant cereals sold in African countries.