Nestlé admits 60% of food products are unhealthy in leaked document

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An internal presentation circulated among executives at the world's largest food company, Nestlé, has acknowledged that over 60% of its food and beverage products fail to meet a "recognised definition of health".

The document, which was seen by the FT, also said that "some of [Nestlé's] categories and products will never be ‘healthy’ no matter how much we renovate".

There was also an acknowledgement that just 37% of Nestlé's food and drink portfolio - not including medical nutrition supplements and pet food - achieve a rating of more than 3.5 under the Australian health star rating system.

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The system gives food products a score out of five stars and is seen as a key barometer for research by groups such as the Access to Nutrition Foundation. Nestlé considers a score of 3.5 stars to be the lowest threshold of a "recognised definition of health".

Breaking down the company's food and beverage portfolio further, the presentation said that 70% of its foods, 96% of drinks (excluding pure coffee) and 99% of its ice cream and confectionary did not meet that 3.5-star threshold. Fairing better was water and dairy items, with 82% and 60% meeting the threshold respectively.

The presentation said that while Nestlé had "made significant improvements to our products... our portfolio still underperforms against external definitions of health in a landscape where regulatory pressure and consumer demands are skyrocketing."

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The data accounts for around half of Nestlé's €84.1 billion revenues, excluding pet food, coffee, baby formula and the health science division which specialises in foods for people with medical conditions.

The leaked document comes at a time when food companies are under pressure as part of a global trend towards healthier eating and to combat obesity.

Nestlé executives are aiming to unveil plans regarding nutritional commitments later in the year, as well as updating its own internal standards of nutrition.

CEO Mark Schneider has previously acknowledged the consumer trend towards healthier diets but rejected the notion that "processed" foods including those made by Nestlé were often unhealthy.

The presentation highlighted several of the company’s products such as a DiGiorno three-meat croissant crust pizza, which includes about 40% of a person's recommended daily allowance of sodium, and a Hot Pockets pepperoni pizza that contains 48%.

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Separately, strawberry-flavoured Nesquik contains 17g of sugar in one glass along with small amounts of colouring and flavouring. The product, which is designed to be mixed with milk, is described as “perfect at breakfast to get kids ready for the day”.

Nestlé said it "is working on a company-wide project to update its pioneering nutrition and health strategy. We are looking at our entire portfolio across the different phases of people’s lives to ensure our products are helping meet their nutritional needs and supporting a balanced diet.

"Our 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 14-15% in the past seven years alone."

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