Nestlé Products Worldwide

Are Nestlé products identical throughout the world?
No. Nestlé encourages its national operations to adapt products locally, in order to respect the local, regional and national habits and the tastes, cultural and religious backgrounds of consumers as well as their purchasing power. While all products must correspond to our quality requirements, they vary extensively in composition, recipe, packaging and branding.

Are there countries in which Nestlé products are not available?
Not to our knowledge.

How do you ensure that quality standards are respected in all countries?
Through a three-tiered quality control system that encompasses the careful selection of raw materials, the production process and distribution up to the point of sale. Factory laboratories, regional quality control laboratories and central quality control work together to make sure that our products are safe and of good quality.

Why can't I buy certain Nestlé products in my country?
Our local companies decide whether a given product has the potential to be successful in their market in light of consumption habits, taste and cultural background. In many cases, this is a question of potential sales volumes. If the market is too small, or if the local distribution system will not permit the product to be sold in good condition, the local subsidiary won't put the product on the market. Moreover, local legislation can make it impossible for a given product to be sold in certain markets.

Confectionery, allergies & nuts

People eat confectionery for pleasure, why do you use ingredients that can cause allergies?

Simply it is almost impossible to avoid ingredients which can cause allergies. There are more than 160 different foods in the world known to cause allergies, but 90% of the problems are caused by eight specific foods (cow's milk, peanuts, treenuts, wheat, eggs, soya, fish and crustaceans). With the exception of the seafood items, these ingredients are common in almost all prepared foods, confectionery included.

Why do you use peanuts and treenuts in confectionery?

Nuts go really well in confectionery. Whether they are included in chocolate, biscuits or candies, well-roasted nuts are always felt by consumers to add to the enjoyment of eating our confectionery products. Nut containing confectionery is popular throughout the world: in North America the preference tends to be for peanuts; whereas in the rest of the world hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans and macadamias are very popular.

How many people suffer from allergies?

This is quite difficult to measure precisely. Many people believe they suffer from food allergies and do not. Medical estimates seem to be that about 1-2% of adults and 4-6% of children suffer from true food allergies (based on food challenge and immunological testing). While the information is stronger from developed countries, food allergies occur in people from all countries, although the precise degree of response to different foods seems to vary from place to place.

The level of food allergy in the population seems to be highest in early childhood, but many children seem to grow out of their reactions to cow's milk and eggs. Unfortunately some food allergies and this includes those to peanuts and treenuts, once present tend to last a lifetime.

What happens when people are allergic to a food?

Food allergy involves a response of the body's immune system to the protein in a food the consumer has eaten. To be able to react in this way the body has to be 'sensitized' to a food and produce antibodies to it. Then, when you eat the food the antibodies kick in and they try to attack the food. This can result in lots of different symptoms – stomach upsets (vomiting, diarrhea, nausea), or skin reactions (rashes, dermatitis, itching or swelling), or respiratory problems (sneezing, rhinitis or asthma).

But worst of all, for some really unfortunate people, a severe and rapid reaction called anaphylaxis can occur. Here, several symptoms occur, the throat can swell and close plus there is a dramatic drop in blood pressure. Without urgent medical treatment some people can die from this extreme allergic reaction. It seems that young food allergic persons suffering from asthma are at highest risk of dying from an anaphylactic shock.

How much do allergic people need to eat before they get an allergic reaction to a food?

No safe levels have been suggested as yet, but the amounts causing a reaction can be very small indeed.

How do you manage food allergies?

There is no cure for food allergies; prevention has to be based on avoidance. The susceptible person must exclude foods containing the things they are allergic to from their diet.

Food manufacturers and handlers are responsible for adequate and accurate food labeling. This involves either working in an environment that is free from a particular allergen, using specific efforts to avoid the inadvertent presence of critical allergens or precautionary labeling.

Why do you need to use precautionary labeling for nuts?

Most people like to enjoy a variety of their favorite confectionery products with a range of different flavors and textures all from their favorite brand(s). But the equipment used to make confectionery is highly specialized and all the variants usually have to be made on the same equipment.

With the popularity of nut containing products this means that varieties of product with and without nuts have to be made together. In these circumstances, it is virtually impossible to guarantee that small pieces of nut cannot be carried over from one lot of production to another.

The only safe way to deal with this is to add a line to the ingredient list saying that even the products without nuts in their recipe may contain nut traces. This makes sure that anyone who suffers from an allergy to nuts can avoid the product if they wish.

How do consumers know which products are nut free and which are not?

It is Nestlé's policy to put a full ingredients list on all their confectionery products and where nuts are used in a recipe this will always be declared. In each market the Nestlé Consumer Services Department has access to the technical details of all our products and are willing to help consumers with all their product needs. They can reply to enquiries about nutritional data, Halal or Kosher status as well as the presence or absence of any allergy-causing ingredient (including nuts, milk, Soya or eggs).

Is Nestlé Chocolate Halal?

Nestlé chocolates are made to a variety of recipes around the world, but overall their ingredients are very similar and are strictly controlled. The basic composition of chocolate is mixture of cocoa products, milk and sugar bound together with an emulsifier (see below).

The vegetable fat used is the fat from cocoa beans (called cocoa butter); in some chocolates, part of this may be replaced by other vegetable fats (most frequently a tropical fat like palm oil, shea butter or sal). A minor fat based component in Nestlé chocolate is the emulsifier; this is normally lecithin from soybeans, and is always of vegetable origin. The only non-vegetable fat used in chocolate is milk fat (from cow's milk).

All of these fats are obtained from reputable suppliers and to strict quality specifications to ensure that the Nestlé chocolate made from them will be of the best quality and very enjoyable to eat.

Should you want to have more information about the contents of a specific Nestlé chocolate product, then you can get this from the ingredients list on the packaging. Should this be insufficient for your needs, then please contact the local Nestlé Consumer Services address or telephone number shown on the product packaging. They will provide you with the further detail you are looking for. You can also email us here.

Dark Chocolate
This is based on a combination of cocoa products and sugar. A very small proportion of milk fat (2-4%) may be added, as may some other vegetable fats (up to 5%). Soy-based lecithin is then used to emulsify the ingredients.

Milk Chocolate
This is similar to dark chocolate but to give a good creamy/milky taste more milk products are added. These can include whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, milk fat, whey powder, lactose powder, or milk protein. Soy-based lecithin is then used to emulsify the ingredients.

White Chocolate
Is a combination of milk products, cocoa butter and sugar. Up to 5% vegetable fat may be used in addition to cocoa butter and milk fat. Soy-based lecithin is then used to emulsify the ingredients.

Compound Chocolate
This is a variant on chocolate in which most of the cocoa butter in the formulation is replaced by another vegetable fat and less cocoa materials are used. Compound can also be made in dark, milk or white versions by varying the cocoa and milk content as described above.

Nestlé and Lactalis

Nestlé S.A. and Lactalis jointly state that they remain fully committed to the planned common business in the chilled dairy sector, as announced in December of 2005. Both companies believe that the creation of a European venture in the yoghurt and chilled dessert sector will ultimately benefit consumers through increased innovation.

After filing with the anti-trust authorities of the European Union at the end of June 2006, and as a result of discussions between the companies and the Commission, the companies were informed that some changes were required. As a procedural matter, Nestlé and Lactalis decided to withdraw the filing and to resubmit a modified proposal to the Commission in mid-August 2006. The amendments will not significantly affect the core sectors of the common business.

Nestlé and Lactalis remain confident that a positive outcome can be expected and look forward to concluding the operation in the course of 2006.