FSSAI to test baby formula from Nestle and other manufacturers

Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country's apex food regular, is going to collect and test baby formula products of Nestle India and other manufacturers. The move comes after a recent report by Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, and International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) alleged that Nestle adds sugar in its infant formula Cerelac in India.

Following the report, Nestle India, which rules the infant and baby formula products market in India with a majority of the share in its kitty, has refuted the allegations of discrimination between the Indian market and European markets. The report alleged that in markets like India Nestle’s Cerelac - a baby formula product for kids aged above 6 months - has added sugar but not in markets like the UK and Germany.

According to Suresh Narayanan, Chairman & Managing Director of Nestle India, while the company has not received any formal notice from the food regulator, it has been communicated that FSSAI will collect samples of baby formula like Cerelac from its facilities.

"They [the FSSAI] have indicated that they will be taking samples from our factories. Not only from our factories but also from all the other infant formula and cereal manufacturers. So, it will be an industry-wide sampling that will be done. And then they will do tests as they deem relevant to their category. It is their discretion and we respect that,” Narayanan said in reply to Business Today’s questions. 

According to sources, the FSSAI has already initiated the process of collecting random samples of infant formula and cereals in the country after the reports came to the fore.

Nestle, with its array of infant formula products, dominates the market in India. As per Narayanan, Cerelac holds over 70% share of the infant cereal market in the country.

The recent controversy erupted nearly 8 years after its Maggi instant noodles faced the heat of the regulator, following allegations of excess soda ash and the presence of the carcinogenic element mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) - popularly known as Ajinomoto. In 2015, the company had to face losses in excess of Rs 100 crore due to FSSAI banning Maggi instant noodles in India for months.