Nestle India on Thursday said it is in the process of introducing variants of its infant food brand Cerelac with “no refined sugar”. The company said it had been working on the expansion of its infant food portfolio in India with no refined sugar formulations for the past three years.

Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India, said, “I am delighted to inform you that we have achieved our ambition of introducing ‘Cerelac’ variants with no refined sugar. This was initiated three years ago and has culminated this year with the introduction of new Cerelac variants with no refined sugar.”

The company said that the expanded Cerelac range in India will now consist of 21 variants, of which, 14 variants will have no refined sugar. Of these 14 variants, 7 will be available by the end of November 2024 and the rest will be introduced in the coming weeks

“I am also happy to share that Cerelac, Nestlé’s cereal-based complementary food has entered its 50th year in India. The first batch of Cerelac was manufactured in our flagship factory in Moga, Punjab on September 15, 1975. Today, hundreds of dedicated employees continue to manufacture quality nutrition products with the same tender care and passion at the Moga factory in Punjab and Samalkha factory in Haryana,” Narayanan added.

Earlier this year, Swiss investigative organisation Public Eye and IBFAN had accused Nestle of having “double standards” alleging that its popular baby food products including Cerelac, sold in low and middle-income countries like India contained “ added sugar”. It further said that such products are sold “ without added sugar” in developed markets.

In response, Nestle India CMD Suresh Narayanan in April asserted that these allegations of “double standards” were untrue and that the packaged food major makes no distinction between a child in Europe or India. The company had also emphasised that it was in compliance with the local food regulations. He also pointed out that added sugar levels in Cerelac in India were well below (7.1 gms per 100 gms) those prescribed by FSSAI standards (13.6 gms per 100 gms). The company has also said that it continues to be on a journey to reduce “added sugar” in its Cerelac portfolio. The company is a leading player in the baby food and infant food product segment.

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