Concerns about Nestlé products as the Health Star Rating, HSR, indicates a low score

Concerns About Nestlé Products
According to OpenLife Nigeria, Nestlé, the world’s largest food company and maker of MILO, Maggi, and many other global food brands, has acknowledged that the nutritional value of less than half of its portfolio of mainstream food and drinks can be considered “healthy,” based on the HSR health score that was recently released.

The remaining 50% of its goods failed to fulfil the newest health star rating (HSR) system’s standards, which employ a five-star rating to assess foods based on their nutritional content.
According to the world’s largest food company’s annual report, 54% of its food and beverages by revenue — excluding pet food, infant food, vitamins, and specialised medical nutrition — were rated worse than 3.5 on the commonly used health star rating (HSR) system. Despite pressure from packaged food manufacturers to make their goods more nutritious, this remains the case.
According to the non-profit Access to Nutrition Initiative, foods having a lower score are not considered “generally healthy.” HSR takes into account the level of saturated fats, sugar and salt within individual products, as well as “positive nutrients” such as fibre, fruit, and vegetables.

Nestlé brands include Smarties chocolates, Nesquik, Maggi, Nido, Golden Morn, and Nescafé coffee, among others. Nestle revealed the numbers in response to shareholder and campaigner demand to make the industry more transparent about the nutritional content of its products.
The Swiss-based company claimed to be “setting a standard for transparency” and the first in the industry to “report on the nutritional value of its entire global portfolio.”
Holly Gabriel, a Share Action advocate, welcomed the revelation but said it “worryingly shows the company is still far too reliant on the sale of less healthy food and drink products.”

Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider told analysts last month that the company had achieved “already a lot of progress” in lowering its carbon footprint sodium, sugar and saturated fats.

The food company recently lowered sodium in items such as Mahler Seafood Creamy Soup, introduced new zero-sugar Coffee Mate varieties, and debuted more plant-based dishes such as Garden Gourmet Schnitzel.
However, industry executives have warned that there are limits to how far they can push healthier products, particularly while inflation has reduced consumer spending and driven up industry expenses.
“It’s clear that there are limits while the work is ongoing,” Schneider added. “Enjoyment categories [such as confectionery] will not be converted into health categories.”

Nestlé classified its net sales into four categories in its annual report: 17 percent came from products with a HSR score of less than 1.5, 18 percent from products with a rating of 1.5 to 3.5, and 30 percent from products with a rating of at least 3.5. The remaining 35% came from pet care and other products that are not subject to HSR.
The company compiled the data, which was then audited by the third-party Bureau Veritas. Nestlé revealed the statistics for the first time on Tuesday, despite the Financial Times reporting roughly two years ago on an internal company presentation that also revealed a substantial share of its portfolio scored worse than 3.5 on the scale.
Access to Nutrition Research Director Mark Wijne Initiative, also stated that the disclosure was “welcome,” but that firms like Nestlé could and should do more to innovate and promote healthier options.

Nestlé went on to say that it had “come a long way and now wants to go even further.” We have agreed to set a global target for the healthier portion of our business later this year.”
The extent to which packaged food types are responsible for the global obesity problem is being investigated. To improve diets, several governments have imposed tariffs on high-sugar items as well as limits on advertising and sales promotions.
Meanwhile, other large food and beverage corporations in the country are likely to score low in the health ranking as well.

Unilever, Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Friesland WAMCO, NBL, Indomie (Dufil Foods), and many other companies manufacture foods and beverages rich in sodium, sugar, and saturated fat.

Nestlé and other food companies are under increasing pressure from regulators and consumers to improve the healthiness of their goods and reduce obesity and chronic diseases.
For the time being, food and beverage companies will rely on deft advertising and public relations to tell only one side of their stories.