Nestle Cereals to reduce sugar content to prevent childhood obesity

Oatmeal and corn flakes, which are children's favorite breakfast foods, seem to be nutritious and healthy, but in fact they are high in sugar. In view of the serious problem of childhood obesity around the world, Nestlé and General Mills announced that they will implement strict measures to reduce sugar and salt in the cereals they jointly market to more than 140 countries outside North America.

Nestle, the world's leading cereal supplier, has decided to first adjust its formula to reduce sugar and salt, hoping it will help reduce childhood obesity. (Photo/taken from the official website of Nestlé Food Company)

Nestle SA and General Mills Inc have been a joint venture since 1990 and have a combined global turnover of $2.5 billion, according to Reuters. The reformulation will reduce sugar by 24 percent and sodium by 12 percent, affecting 5.3 billion servings of cereal sold annually.

Separately, a survey by UK consumer magazine Which found that 32 of 50 popular cereals, mostly designed for children, contained alarmingly high levels of sugar, almost as much as chocolate biscuits. The Children's Food Campaign, an organization under the British charity "Sustain", questioned the company's claim of changing the formula, believing that manufacturers cannot use health as an advertising slogan. After all, the sugar and salt contained in it cannot be ignored.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that as of 2010, there were 42 million overweight children under the age of five worldwide. Changing dietary patterns is a prerequisite for reducing the number of obese children. The global large food companies are the first to respond, which is expected to encourage more food companies to follow suit and jointly solve the obesity problem.