Nestlé Nigeria Plc has responded to recent allegations that it is adding sugar to its baby food products, which are sold in Africa, despite offering sugar-free versions in Europe.
The controversy arises amid growing concerns over childhood obesity in Africa, where early exposure to added sugars in infant food may increase the risk of obesity and related diseases.
An investigation revealed that over 90 per cent of tested Cerelac products sold in 20 African countries contained added sugar, often exceeding levels found in products marketed in Europe, prompting calls for Nestlé to align its formulations worldwide to protect infant health.
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Corporate Affairs Manager for Nestlé Nigeria, Toju Egbebi, firmly defended the company’s practices, asserting that their product composition is “fully transparent and that they do not mislead consumers” regarding the sugars in their Cerelac recipes.
Egbebi stressed that their formulations adhere strictly to the Codex Alimentarius international standards for infant nutrition established by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which serves as the benchmark for local nutritional regulations in countries like Nigeria.
A significant point of contention centres on how the sugars are defined and measured. Egbebi described the Public Eye report as “misleading and scientifically inaccurate,” particularly in its reference to the total sugar content.
She explained that the report fails to distinguish between sugars naturally present in ingredients and those that are genuinely added, refined sugars.
“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,” Egbebi stated.
The company insists that sugar is clearly declared on Nigerian product labels, where it is included in the total amount of carbohydrates, and that their formulations fully comply with the country’s current food safety and labelling regulations.
Furthermore, Nestlé maintains that it operates under a single, rigorous global standard for early childhood nutrition.
Egbebi strongly dismissed the suggestion of a “double standard,” noting that the company’s internal guidelines set a threshold for added sugars that is “well below the CODEX Alimentarius” limits.
“We apply our threshold everywhere, consistently, including in Nigeria,” she assured parents. To reinforce their position, Nestlé revealed they have formally requested further details of Public Eye’s product analyses and methodologies, information which they claim has not yet been provided.
“We want to reassure parents that our infant cereals are healthy. We understand that parents and infants need more options, which is why we have been working for many years to diversify our portfolio. We aim to offer parents more options and introduce no-added-sugar variants everywhere. In the Central and West Africa region, our no-refined-sugar variants are already available in Ghana and in Nigeria, they are undergoing regulatory approvals.
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