2023-05-11 19:51:51
Nestlé sponsor of a congress on obesity: the pill goes wrong
A sponsorship contract for a subsidiary of the multinational was terminated following strong criticism, a few weeks before the opening of the 30e European Obesity Congress in Dublin.
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Image d’illustration.
AFP
When the name of Nestlé found itself among the sponsors of the European Congress on Obesity, which will take place from May 17 to 20 in Dublin, the reactions were not long in coming. On social networks first, then in the «British Medical Journal» via an open letter signed by several scientists.
“Nestlé’s sponsorship of a congress on obesity is exactly the same as a tobacco company’s support of a congress on smoking-related diseases,” says Christoffer van Tulleken, associate professor at University College London. According to him, Nestlé, which had admitted in an internal document to selling unhealthy products (read box), is a vector of junk food. “Its business depends on increasing global sales of foods associated with obesity. She cannot be part of the solution.”
Contract of 40,000 euros
These criticisms hit the bull’s eye since the contract was terminated, as confirmed by the organizers of the event. In fact, the Swiss firm ended up on the list of sponsors through the company specializing in diets, Pronokal, sponsors of the congress for fifteen years and acquired by Nestlé in early 2022. According to the organizers, the amount of the contract was 40,000 euros.
Contacted, Nestlé dodges questions directly related to this affair, in particular on the image deficit from which the group seems to suffer. However, the company says it is “frequently asked” via its Nestlé Health Science department “to sponsor scientific and medical meetings and symposia aimed at deepening the scientific knowledge of health professionals and decision-makers in a given field. We believe it is important to support such meetings.”
An internal Nestlé document, leafed through in 2021 by the “Financial Times”, showed that the agrifood giant admitted himself that more than 60% of the products he sells “do not meet the definition of health”. It could also be read that, whatever efforts will be made in the future, certain categories of its products can never be considered “healthy”. Nestlé told us that it had “continuously” and “for many years” been improving the nutritional value of its products. Sugar, salt and fatty acid are “gradually” reduced, assures the company. Nestlé also says to “transparently display nutrition labels” such as the Nutri-Score in Switzerland.
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