Nestle explores use of alternative sugar in products
Nestle, producers of baby foods and beverages, is researching into the use of alternative sugar to satisfy the health needs of its clients.
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At its Research and Development (R&D) Centre in Abidjan, the company is researching into 250 local plants to come out with alternative sugar and molecules in their numerous beverages.
Briefing media practitioners during a tour of the research facility, the Head of the R&D Centre, Professor Serigne Diop, said Nestle wanted to be more responsive to the health needs of its clients and was, therefore, looking at producing foods which would be suitable for its consumers who are diabetic or hypertensive.
The visit, organised by Nestlé Central and West Africa (Nestle CWA) Limited, brought together 18 journalists from Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Cameroun and Cote d'Ivoire who were afforded the opportunity to know at firsthand how Nestle used technology to address the nutritional needs of its consumers.
The journalists toured many facilities at the centre, including the propagation laboratory, nursery, pilot, packaging and tasting units.
According to Prof. Diop, the research would also help in producing foods that would ease constipation in pregnant women and children, as well as help boost the immune system of children from diarrhoea.
He said Africa had a lot of medicinal plants which could be used as additives of various forms to help ease a lot of medical conditions, including cancers.
Nestle, which is 150 years old as a company, he said, was driven by research; saying that in thinking about its consumers, Nestle used research to meet the needs of the various consumers of its products.
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He revealed that three per cent of every Nestle product purchased went into research, and added that the company’s motivation was to satisfy the health, taste and other needs of its consumers.
Prof. Diop said Nestle used its scientific and technological capacity to improve the health of consumers and the commercialisation of its products.
The vision of the company, he said, was to delight “our African consumers beyond their expectations,” and added that Nestle worked at understanding the food habit of consumers in various countries.