Nestlé has urged Kit Kat to cut sales of unhealthy food

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Farea Masoud Business Correspondent

1 hour ago

Image source, Getty Images

Nestlé is being urged to reduce the proportion of unhealthy food it sells and to “play its part” in global health.

Investor group ShareAction said 40% of Nestlé’s sales of everyday foods in the UK were high in salt, sugar or fat.

Nestle said its reports on the health of its global sales were the first of its kind worldwide and pledged to set a target for healthy sales later this year.

But ShareAction said it also wants Nestle to reduce the amount of unhealthy foods it sells.

Nestlé is the largest food company in the world and owns brands such as KitKat and Shreddies.

In April, it launched its new Kit Kat breakfast cereal in supermarkets across the UK. It contains 7.4g of sugar per 30g serving. This is higher than the average recommended refined sugar intake per serving for adults.

Nestle said the KitKat cereal was designed to be enjoyed as an “incidental and fun” breakfast option.

ShareAction, which lobbies for ethical investing, has coordinated calls from around 26 investors – with more than £2.64tn in assets.

This comes ahead of Nestle’s annual shareholder meeting on Thursday.

Simon Rawson, Executive Vice President of ShareAction, said: “Nestlé has said it wants to sell healthy foods, but has not offered assurances that it will also address its sales of less healthy food items, which is necessary to turn the tide against the harmful effects of ill-health associated with the diet.” .

He added that the Swiss food giant needed to “rebalance” its sales to make balanced diets “affordable to people all over the world”.

A spokesperson for Nestlé said it set a new standard for corporate transparency in March.

“We are the first company to report the nutritional value of our entire global portfolio against a single, externally recognized nutritional profile chart,” they added in a statement.

Rawson said recent research from the International Obesity Federation showed that more than half of the world’s population will be overweight or obese by 2035, unless “serious and immediate” action is taken.

ShareAction has written to the boards of directors of several food companies including Kellogg’s, Danone and Kraft Heinz, calling for more transparency and nutrition goal setting.

Nestle, which also makes Paxton mineral water and Nescafe coffee, said in February it had taken an “enormous” hit to its earnings as the price of food ingredients hit record levels.

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