Campaigner takes stand against multinational food manufacturer
One of the world’s biggest food manufacturers has taken steps to re-label the nutritional benefits of one of its newest breakfast cereals thanks to the efforts of Bristol-based best-selling author, entrepreneur and healthy food campaigner Kate Percy.
The mum-of-three, whose pioneering #Cook5withKatePercy aims to inspire and enable young people with the skills to cook five healthy meals from scratch, decided to take a stand against Nestle when the company announced it was launching a new cereal product based on its KitKat chocolate bar.
The cereal was described as nutritious so Kate, author of the best-selling healthy cookbook Go Faster Food, took to LinkedIn where an article she wrote disputing Nestle’s claims and referencing Henry Dimbleby, former government food tsar and founder of healthy food restaurant chain Leon, exploded with nearly 14,000 reads.
Yet it was on Twitter where Kate found an ally in none other than Mr Dimbleby himself. The pair publicly exchanged their shared views on the new cereal and Nestle’s nutritional stance, which led to the company – the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturer – contacting the Leon founder to advise they would be withdrawing the nutritional element of the cereal’s labelling.
According to the The Grocer Magazine, Nestle has decided to describe the cereal as ‘ an occasional, indulgent breakfast option’ instead.
Kate said: “I am so worried about the tide of obesity engulfing the nation. In some of the schools I go into to teach my #Cook5withKatePercy course the number of children who are either overweight or obese is truly shocking and it’s all so unnecessary.
“Chocolate-based cereals and other unhealthy food options aren’t helping our children live a healthy lifestyle and it is important we embed these ways of thinking into children before they reach adulthood. That is why I felt so impassioned to challenge Nestle’s new cereal labelling. This is a small victory, but a vital one.”
