New Delhi: According to a new index report by the global public non-profit foundation Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), major food and drink companies are selling less healthy products in India and ‘other low-income countries’. The report has evoked concerns about the impact of such products on the health of the population.
The ATNI global index report states that companies sell products in low-income countries with a significantly lower health star rating system than those sold in nations with high income. As per the report, the low and lower-middle-income countries are Ghana, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
Among the companies doing so are Nestle, Pepsico and Unilever and overall, 30 companies were assessed. The rating system which has been developed in New Zealand and Australia found that the average score in the lower-income countries was 1.8 out of 5 while it was 2.3 for countries with high income. As per the system, products with a score above 3.5 are healthy. The report was published on November 8 and is the first such report from the organisation since 2021. This is the first time that the index has split the assessment into low and high-income countries.
Mark Wijne, research director at ATNI, while speaking in an interview with Reuters, urged the governments to be more vigilant. He said that the report gives a clear picture that these companies are selling ‘not healthy products’ in the poorest countries where they are more active than in higher-income countries.
According to the report, in high-income countries, the rising use of weight loss medications has begun to hamper the sector of packaged foods. Hence, food companies are under pressure to search for new product lines and markets. Many multinationals are getting more revenue from low and middle-income countries than high-income countries. For example, the report states that PepsiCo which makes Lay’s chips and Tropicana juice, has targeted to increase product sales meeting a nutri-score A/B, but it applies only to its snacks’ portfolio in the European Union.
The ATNI global index report states that companies sell products in low-income countries with a significantly lower health star rating system than those sold in nations with high income. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
