Nestle documents reveal 60% of its food portfolio is 'unhealthy'

The Swiss based multinational company Nesle, the world's largest packaged food and beverages company, has a tough row to hoe after an internal presentation indicated that a majority of its mainstream food and drinks portfolio is unhealthy.

An internal document accessed by the Financial Times newspaper described a large portion of Nestle's food and beverages as unhealthy. The leaked document suggested that 60 per cent of Nestle's food items and beverages in its mainstream portfolio is "unhealthy". Some 70 per cent of its food products failed to meet the mark, along with 96 per cent of its beverages, excluding pure coffee. As much as 99 per cent of its confectionery and ice cream portfolio also failed to meet the standard.

Nestle has reportedly admitted that a majority of its mainstream products fail to meet a "recognised definition of health" and nutrition. The company also revealed in the internal document that some of its categories will "never be healthy".

"Some of our categories and products will never be 'healthy' no matter how much we renovate," said the Nestle internal presentation.

Six year's ago, the company's Maggi instant noodles product was under scrutiny after food safety officials found elevated levels of Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and dangerously high levels of lead in it. Safety regulators reported that samples of Maggi Noodles had high levels of monosodium glutamate (MSG) apart from high lead content above the permissible level. At that time, the labelling on packets of Maggi Noodles indicated that it had no added MSG.

The company is now facing criticism and said that it will work on updating its nutrition and health strategy.

Nestle is the maker of popular food items such as Maggi noodles, KitKat chocolate and Nescafe.

"Nestle, the maker of KitKat, Maggi, and Nescafe, describes the 3.5-star threshold as a 'recognised definition of health'," the report stated.