PACKAGED LIE: HOW NESTLE COMPANY SELLS SUBSTANDARD PRODUCTS TO NIGERIANS AND SUPERIOR TO SOUTH AFRICANS

Secret Reporters

It is rather sad that Nigeria which is a ready market for all kinds of goods due to its large population as well as its insatiable appetite for already made goods and foreign investments appears to have become a dumping ground for substandard and second hand products majorly from multinational companies who seemingly fabricates nutritional values attached to their products whereas the content is a direct opposite of what is displayed on the package.

Nestlé Nigeria Plc which is one of the numerous food and beverage companies patronized in Nigeria and producers of Milo, Nido, Kit Kat, Golden Morn, Nescafe, Carnaton, Gloria, Maggi, Ideal etc is alleged to be an epitome of this impropriety as information made available to SecretReporters reveal that in their quest to make more gains and perhaps due to the fact that they have greased that palms of those who are supposed to ensure that all products are up to standard, they have over the years applied double standards in products made for consumers in Nigeria and that of other countries.

In a recent experiment carried out on a Nestle product (Milo) by a concerned Nigerian, Dr C. Okojie who is Professor in Chemical Engineering, it was observed that the nutritional composition displayed on the sachet of the beverage was not in tandem with the results he got from his analysis. 

According to him, the fibre, calcium, potassium and vitamin content on the Nigerian Milo were fabricated with an offset value of 12 each which is way below the value displayed on the sachet. “The content values are incorrect and the Milo itself is poisonous and chemically enhanced’’ he stated.

He also stated that an organoleptic analysis of the Milo he bought in South Africa showed that it was browner in colour and with a better taste having moderate sugar content when compared to those produced in Nigeria by the same company.

There are speculations that Nestle Nigeria may have reduced the quality of the product in other for it to be sold at a cheaper rate in the Nigerian market and perhaps greased the palms of the regulatory bodies in Nigeria like the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Consumer Protection Council of Nigeria who are expected to ensure that the measurements and specifications are in tandem with the food laws and standards as stipulated in the country.