The FSSAI is collecting samples of Nestle’s Cerelac infant cereal from all throughout India
New Delhi: In response to a worldwide report that the corporation was increasing the product’s sugar content, the food safety regulator FSSAI said on Thursday that it is gathering samples of Nestle’s Cerelac baby cereal from throughout India.
“We are gathering samples from all throughout the nation of Nestle’s Cerelac infant cereals. On the fringes of an Assocham seminar on food fortification, G Kamala Vardhana Rao, CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI), told PTI that the procedure will take 15 to 20 days to finish.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is in charge of the statutory FSSAI.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the consumer affairs ministry both voiced concerns about the purportedly high sugar content of Nestle’s infant food products, prompting action after they saw a worldwide study released by the Swiss NGO Public Eye.
According to the worldwide research, compared to markets in Europe, Nestle marketed infant products with greater sugar content in less developed South Asian countries including India, Africa, and Latin America.
Nonetheless, Nestle India has insisted that it never skimps on compliance and that, during the last five years, it has lowered the amount of added sugar in infant food products in India by up to 30%, depending on the variety.
The FSSAI CEO had earlier stressed the value of food fortification for human health during her speech at the Assocham event. She also asked for the inclusion of millets and other alternative foods in the fortification process in addition to rice.
He said, “FMCG companies have expanded the nation’s nutritional food basket by introducing a variety of millet-based products in recent years.”
‘Fortifying India’s Future: Significance of Food Fortification and Nutrition’, an Assocham knowledge study, was also released by the CEO on this occasion.
Food fortification was also discussed by Tony Senanyake, CEO of Fortify Health, Umesh Kamble, CEO of Farm to Fork Solutions, and CEO of LT Foods Global Branded Business, Shariqua Yunus of World Food Programme.
