Nestlé’s Sweet Scandal: India Baby Foods Sweeter Than Europe’s, While Pakistan Infant Deaths Haunt Past

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Nestlé, the oldest and largest food and beverage company in the world, found itself embroiled in controversy once again. This time, the scandal erupted in India over allegations that the company was adding excessive amounts of sugar to its baby food products sold in the country.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) took notice and urged the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to conduct a thorough examination into the sugar levels in Nestlé’s infant food offerings. This was not the first time the corporate giant had faced scrutiny over its baby food business practices.

Decades earlier, in Pakistan during the 90s, Nestlé’s infant formula was blamed for the deaths of hundreds of babies. Syed Aamir Raza Hussain, a former Nestlé salesman in Sialkot, blew the whistle on the company’s unethical and potentially lethal practices.

Hussain’s job was to promote the firm’s baby formula to doctors and nurses, offering them gifts and incentives to recommend Nestlé products to new mothers. However, he soon discovered a horrifying truth – with over 44% of Pakistanis lacking access to clean water, the formula was being mixed into contaminated water, causing severe illness and death in infants.

One day, a doctor led Hussain into a ward filled with severely malnourished babies – sunken faces, twig-like arms. “Those babies are dying because of your company’s formula,” the doctor stated grimly. Hussain was shaken to his core. What he had assumed was simply unethical marketing was actually a matter of life and death.

His decision to become a whistleblower set off a decade-long battle against the multi-billion dollar empire. Despite threats and personal losses, including the deaths of both his parents while he fought the legal case, Hussain persevered. His courageous story of taking on corporate greed was captured in the film “Tigers,” with Bollywood star Emraan Hashmi portraying Hussain’s crusade to protect innocent lives.

While the controversy in India was still unfolding, Nestlé’s troubled past with Hussain’s exposé served as a stark reminder that profit should never come at the cost of infant lives. The whistle blown in Pakistan had put the company on notice – any unethical practices jeopardizing child safety would be met with intense scrutiny and opposition from those willing to take a stand.

Also Read: NCPCR Directs FSSAI to Assess Sugar in Nestle Baby Foods, Report Required Within 7 Days