Nestle document says 60 per cent of its food portfolio is unhealthy: Report

The worldrsquos largest food company Nestle has acknowledged that more than 60 per cent of its mainstream food and drinks products do not meet a recognised definition of health and that some of our categories and products will never be lsquohealthy no matter how much we renovate the Financial Times reportedA presentation circulated among the top executives this year seen by the Financial Times said only 37 per cent of Nestles food and beverages by revenues excluding products such as pet food and specialised medical nutrition achieve a rating above 35 under Australias health star rating systemThis system scores food out of five stars and is used in research by international groups such as the Access to Nutrition FoundationAs per the report Nestle the maker of KitKat Maggi and Nescafe describes the 35 star threshold as a recognised definition of healthThe report said within its overall food and drink portfolio about 70 per cent of Nestles food products failed to meet that threshold the presentation said along with 96 per cent of beverages mdash excluding pure coffee mdash and 99 per cent of Nestles confectionery and ice cream portfolioWater and dairy products scored better with 82 per cent of water and 60 per cent of dairy products meeting the thresholdWe have made significant improvements to our products but our portfolio still underperforms against external definitions of health in a landscape where regulatory pressure and consumer demands are skyrocketing the presentation saidThe data excludes baby formula pet food coffee and the health science division which makes foods for people with specific medical conditions This means the data accounts for about half of Nestles Swiss Francs 926 billion 727 billion pound total annual revenuesThe report said the findings come as foodmakers contend with a global push to combat obesity and promote healthier eatingExecutives at Nestle are considering what new commitments to make on nutrition and are aiming to unveil plans this yearThe group is also updating its internal nutrition standards known as the Nestle Nutritional Foundation that were introduced under former chief executive Peter BrabeckLetmathe who characterised Nestle as a nutrition health and wellness companyOne option could be to drop or replace these standards for products seen as treats such as confectionery according to a person familiar with the situation as per the reportMark Schneider chief executive Nestle has acknowledged that consumers want a healthier diet but rejected claims that processed food including those made by Nestle and other multinationals tend to be unhealthyHowever the presentation highlights Nestle products such as a DiGiorno three meat croissant crust pizza which includes about 40 per cent of a persons recommended daily allowance of sodium and a Hot Pockets pepperoni pizza that contains 48 per cent the report saidAnother product an orangeflavoured San Pellegrino drink scores an lsquoE ndash the worst mark available under a different scoring system NutriScore ndash with more than 71 gram of sugar per 100 ml the presentation says asking Should a healthforward brand carry an E ratingSeparately Nestles strawberryflavoured Nesquik which is sold in the US contains 14 gram of sugar in a 14 gram serving though it is designed to be mixed with milk It is described as perfect at breakfast to get kids ready for the dayNestle said it is working on a companywide project to update its pioneering nutrition and health strategy We are looking at our entire portfolio across the different phases of peoples lives to ensure our products are helping meet their nutritional needs and supporting a balanced dietOur efforts build on a strong foundation of work over decades For example we have reduced the sugars and sodium in our products significantly in the past two decades about 1415 per cent in the past seven years alone it saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever