Swiss food company Nestle SA has announced that it is cutting the added sugar in its Nesquik flavored milk products.
Nestle has taken successive measures recently to lessen sugar and salt in its offerings amid increasing public health worries, reports Reuters.
The renew Nesquik powders will be launched this month and would contain 10.6 grams of sugar per two tablespoons, registering a 15% decrease in the chocolate version and a 27% reduction in the strawberry flavour. The products will also no longer contain artificial colours or flavours, the company said.
Nesquik ready-to-drink beverages will include 10.6 grams of "added sugar" per eight-ounce serving, with 22 grams in total due to lactose.
Nestle's beverage division president Rob Case was quoted by Reuters as saying: "The general consensus is that flavored milk is an appropriate product if it's consumed in responsible amounts."
Nestle's overhaul step is similar to other big food companies, yet many health advocates are not convinced.
As cited in Reuters, Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, executive director Michael Jacobson said: "It's a nice step in the right direction, but it's not a huge victory for nutrition. I would recommend water or skim milk or low-fat milk as something that is more appropriate to drink."
Nestle said that the added sugar in its revised powders amounts to about 43 calories per serving size, a third of the recommended maximum added sugar intake for children aged 4 to 8, based on guidelines proposed by a U.S. advisory health panel.
But a 2011 report by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity said that children of that age should consume just 15 grams of added sugar each day, or 60 calories, based on the American Heart Association's recommendation.
Image: Chocolate flavour Nesquik Ready-To-Drink. Photo: courtesy of Theo's Little Bot/Wikipedia.
