Baby Food: NAFDAC absolves Nestle of breaching sugar level
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has absolved an international baby food manufacturer, Nestle of breaching Nigerian laws regarding the level of sugar in its baby food products sold in Nigeria.
The agency said the Nestle product that allegedly breached the sugar level, Nido, was neither registered nor sold in Nigeria.
Recall that advocates against sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) under the aegis of the National Action Sugar Reduction (NASR) Coalition, in reaction to The Guardian UK investigative report on the issue recently called out NAFDA to promptly act on it.
In reaction to the development in a statement on Sunday, April 28, by its Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, NAFDAC said it is alive to its responsibility of safeguarding the health security of Nigerians and has done due diligence on the issue since it broke out.
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The statement reads in part: “The NAFDAC Management wishes to reassure the public that the Agency is fully alive to her responsibilities of assuring the safety, wholesomeness and quality of infant and young children’s foods offered for sale in Nigeria in compliance with the relevant standards and regulations.
“Infant and young children’s foods are strictly regulated by NAFDAC in recognition of the vulnerability of the target population and measures are in place to monitor and enforce compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and the national regulations – Marketing of Infant and Young Children Food and other Designated Products (Registration, Sales, etc.) Regulations
“Regarding the mention of Nido follow-up milk formula in the publication, NAFDAC wishes to state that the product is not registered in Nigeria, is not known to the Agency and is not in circulation in Nigeria.
“The range of Nestle Cerelac infant cereals distributed in Nigeria are duly registered with NAFDAC in line with the Nigerian Industrial Standard for Foods for Infants and Young Children – Processed Cereal Based foods (NIS 256:2010) and the Codex Standard for Processed Cereal-based Foods for Infants and Young Children (CXS 74-1981 adopted in 1981, revised in 2006, amended in 2017, 2019, and 2023), as well as the applicable NAFDAC regulations for compliance with safety, quality, and labelling requirements.
“The scope of the standards covers processed cereal-based foods intended for feeding infants as complementary food from the age of six (6) months.
“It is important to mention that these national and international food standards for processed cereal-based foods for infants and young children permit the addition of sucrose, fructose, glucose, glucose syrup or honey to products consisting of cereals which are or have to be prepared for consumption with milk or other appropriate nutritious liquids provided the amount of added carbohydrates from these sources shall not exceed the stated levels of 1.8 g/100 kJ (7.5 g/100 kcal); and specifically the maximum level of added fructose shall not exceed 0.9g/100kJ (3.75g/100kcal).
“For cereals with an added high protein food which are or have to be prepared for consumption with water or other appropriate protein-free liquid, carbohydrates (if sucrose, fructose, glucose, glucose syrup or honey) are added provided the amount of added carbohydrates from these sources shall not exceed 1.2 g/100 kJ (5g/100 kcal); and specifically the maximum level of added fructose shall not exceed 0.6g/100kJ (2.5g/100kcal).
“It is important to note that carbohydrates are made of building blocks of sugars and can be classified according to how many sugar units are combined in their molecule.
“Glucose, fructose and galactose are examples of single-unit sugars, also known as monosaccharides.
“Double-unit sugars are called disaccharides, among which sucrose (table sugar) and lactose (milk sugar) are most widely known.”
The agency also stated that it did not rest on its oars by taking some steps since the controversy began, including holding a stakeholders’ engagement recently with members of the Association of Infant Food Manufacturers and Marketers in Nigeria (AIFMN), anchored by the Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FSAN) Directorate to further drive home the importance and special place of infant and young child nutrition.
It, however, emphasized that being an active participant in international food standards, the baby food and cereals in question were duly regulated, Nigerians should not exercise fears as it exercises due regulatory diligence in the registration of infant and young children foods distributed and used in Nigeria in line with relevant Codex Alimentarius international food standards (Codex) and more specifically, Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS).
“The NAFDAC Management wishes to reassure the public that the Agency is fully alive to her responsibilities of assuring the safety, wholesomeness and quality of infant and young children’s foods offered for sale in Nigeria in compliance with the relevant standards and regulations.
“This is applicable to all categories of infant and young children foods distributed by manufacturers, importers, and marketers of infant and young children foods operating within Nigeria.”
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