this is bbc news. the headlines: one of the worst starvation crises in modern times — a new report says famine in sudan has expanded to five areas and is likely to spread further next year. as ukraine prepares to mark its third christmas since russia's invasion, russian forces are closing in on the city of pokrovsk, a strategic military hub. a record—smashing "kiss of the sun", as nasa's solar probe makes history, with the closest ever approach to the star. now on bbc news, the sweet divide. i'm a little bit paranoid about what my children eat, and i started looking at labels and was shocked to discover how much sugar there was. this is not nutrition.

i did feed her cerelac first because, um, it's convenient. it suits our budget. they provide same nutrients as the original fruits and vegetables. starting these babies so young on this level of sugar, it's mind—boggling. i will say that categorically, this is one of the healthiest food, complementary foods, you can introduce to your baby. people in southeast asia are getting richer. the region is home to a young and dynamic population...

..who are working hard to make ends meet. as a result, lifestyles are transforming and parents are increasingly choosing convenience to feed their babies. big business has been quick to jump on trends, selling ready—made food to a new, more affluent class of people. in the philippines, major brands sell baby food they advertise as healthy, all natural and beneficial for children's growth and brain development, much of it on social media. but the reality is many of them also contain added sugar, while the same products being sold in other, mostly western countries don't. the stakes are high. obesity and diabetes are on the rise, and experts warn a new type of malnutrition

is emerging. i wanted to know, why the different standards? i talked to the experts sounding the alarm, the influencers promoting brands, the mothers seeking convenience, the government on how it plans to avert growing health concerns, and ask brands why they're adding sugar to baby food.

you want to eat? want to eat? elsewhere in the city, i go to meet another mother who's a stay—at—home mum. catherine has an eight—month—old daughter, azaria, and relies on commercial baby food to feed her.

0h, yummy. my baby is born on december 2023. so she started eating at six months and is still eating now. we started at gerber and cerelac, alternate every day. can we have a look at it? is that 0k? i just wanted to see what... so sometimes, she's eating only, um, these packaged foods? yes, because gerber still have nutrients like vegetables, fruits. they provide same nutrients as the original fruits and vegetables. we're driving out of the part of manila wherejen and catherine both live, and it's an area of manila where a lot of middle and lower—income families do live.

i'm quite shocked thatjen feeds her baby cerelac three times a day, and then feeds some snacks on top of that — commercially available snacks. she is a working mother. she's busy. these foods are convenient and her baby enjoys them. at a local community centre, parents and caregivers bring babies in for vaccinations and classes on how to prepare healthy food. malnourishment isn'tjust about not getting enough food. it can also be about getting the right sorts of food. local health experts here say they're seeing what could be a result of changing food trends.

so the nutritionist is holding this class, and she's explaining to all of these mothers about nutrition, about the benefits of breast—feeding, and even that it's safer to give birth in a hospital as opposed to home. but the doctor told me earlier, most of these mothers can't actually afford to buy porridge or baby food that's available in the shops and supermarkets, but as soon as they get a bit of money, that's exactly what they go for. these instant cereals are widely available, sold on every street corner.

hello. so this is what filipinos call a sari—sari store. it's a mum and pop shop or a convenience store, and they sell everything here, from canned goods to soft drinks and other daily essentials. and it also sells baby food. now, this one comes in these small packets, meaning that parents can just buy one portion, but that also makes it more affordable. and if we have a look at the ingredients list, this has about 18g of sugar in 100g of this product. that's about 18% sugar. cerelac is the world's number one baby cereal, and in the philippines, its maker nestle has a 98% market share in baby food. the most popular flavour here is this one — wheat banana. each serving has about

i7.5g of total sugars. that's equivalent to more than four teaspoons of sugar, but that can include both sugars that are naturally occurring and those that are added for taste. in the philippines, there is no legal requirement for labels to distinguish between the two, so it's hard to know how much sugar has actually been added. added sugar plays a role in the taste. nestle says it does add sugar to some products sold in the country. the added sugar we have in our products are all well below the threshold prescribed by international and local guidelines. so we always follow the fda, who follows codex. and these are the experts in this field. micronutrient deficiency is widespread in the country, and we are serious in our efforts in alleviating micronutrient deficiency. 97% of babies do not meet their daily nutrient requirement. 40% of babies 0 to 5 suffer

from iron deficiency anaemia, and we know that to be anaemic has lifelong consequences, for instance, brain development, and next poor immunity. and 20% of kids 0 to 5 are stunted. that means we fortify our products, but we also make sure that, you know, iron is metallic taste. we also have dha, which is a brain nutrient, it's fishy, fishy taste. so you can imagine you have iron and you have dha, how difficult it is to take the food, right? if you look at nestle cerelac today, all what one bowl of iron fortified cereal with 20 vitamins and minerals can provide the baby, i will say that categorically, this is one of the healthiest food, complementary food, you can introduce to your baby. so on the nestle website, it says that in some countries, infant cereals and other products may contain sugar or sweeteners added to the product. which countries

in asia are those? most countries where we sell nestle infant cereal, whether it's in the european continent, in the americas or in asia, in most countries, we sell both with added sugar and without sugar. in the philippines, we already have several variants or flavours without added sugar, and we also have flavours with added sugar. the un's children agency has been working to better understand how baby food is made and sold in southeast asia. unicef found that in a study of 1,600 baby foods in the region, nearly half included added sugars and sweeteners. why is it that companies are able to sell these types of baby food and label them as healthy? the reason is we do not have

regulation at the moment. we do not have government controls that restrict the marketing of the food or mandate companies to put labels. for example, if you go to other countries in europe, for example, they will have regulations that control the sale, you know, control what is sold out there and also make sure that companies put out what is... ..they�*re clear on what is in the content and at the front of the pack, it's easy for the families and consumers to understand what is good for them and what is unhealthy. how much of a role does social media play in this messaging? a lot. there is a need for us to regulate what is coming out or being pushed out there in social media, especially targeted to children. music plays in the philippines, nestle says it follows international guidelines set by codex, a commissionjointly established by two un agencies, the world health organization,

and the food and agriculture organization. the philippines food and drug administration, which regulates the production and sale of baby food, also follows codex. beyond that, there are no laws pertaining to how much sugar is appropriate in baby food products. i discussed the amount of sugar in baby food with the fda's top official. he acknowledged regulations for sugar levels don't exist at the moment. the sugar content will depend on the manufacturer. we cannot control the amount of the sugar because we do not have policy for that. do you think it's right that these companies are selling these foods? if they have been compliant with those policies, i think they can validly sell their products, but i cannot deny also that there are loopholes in the policies, so we must address those things. but who recommendations for policy makers go further, saying that codex standards

need to be updated, with a particularfocus on avoiding the addition of sugar and salt in children under three. the who guidelines state that no sugar should be added to commercially available baby food products. so why are you adding sugar to your products? when we scientifically formulate our products, and sugar, added sugar plays a role in the taste and texture, this is a holistic approach, and over the years we have reduced added sugar in our products, and our objective is to totally eliminate it. but it's not overnight. so do you have a similar timeline for your baby food? baby food, yes. so next year, wheat banana will already come with a no added sugar variant, and in the next two to three years, we would have already eliminated all added sugar in our variants. it's notjust a bowl of cereal... the global baby food market

was valued at $76 billion in 2024 alone, and sales of instant cereals, porridges, pureed foods, pouches and snacks have almost doubled across southeast asia in the last five years. everything's sweet. even our cured meats are sweet. nutritionists say taste preferences are developed at a young age, and in some countries, like in the philippines, many foods cater to a sweet palate. ok, so here it is. so this is halo—halo. it's quite a popular dessert here in the philippines. and it's basically shaved ice, but with lots of sweet stuff on it. sugary, uh, foods are started quite early. the taste preference tends to be for sugar. if a mother or a family introduces sweet complementary

solids, then you...you set the baby up to prefer, uh, the. . .the attractive sweet taste of. ..of sugar. starting these babies so young on this level of sugar, it's mind—boggling, especially in the philippines. in a study of oral health, national study on oral health, something like 85.7% of all children five years old and younger have dental caries already. apart from that, when exposed to high levels of sugar in the...in the first solids that they eat, then you have problems with weight gain. and, really now, if you look at diabetes, it's an actual epidemic. an epidemic of overweight and obesity. and you are seeing those types of that rise... yes. ..here in the philippines? yes, yes. and we always mentioned that malnutrition isn'tjust being undernourished. it's also over nourished.

overweight and obese children are very difficult to diet. we really need to question why... why the standards are different for filipino children. for example, brazilian children, why...why is there no added sugar in the...in the solid foods for the united kingdom or even germany? campaigners from public eye, a swiss investigative organisation, lab—tested nestle�*s baby food products sold in asia, africa, and latin america. according to their findings, cerelac sold by nestle in the uk has no extra sugar, while the same product being sold in india contained an average of three grams of added sugar. in singapore, nestle promotes cerelac with no added sugar. but in the philippines, on average, 7.3g of sugar was detected per serving in one flavour. it's the highest amount among 66 products sampled in the philippines. a public eye report, which i'm sure you're familiar with, found that some versions of cerelac contain triple the

recommended amount of sugar. is that accurate? it's not accurate. so we don't know how they came up with the figures, but what i can assure you is that every bowl of cerelac, aside from meeting 50% of the iron needs of the baby and one third of the nutrient intake of the baby, has added sugar that is way below international and local guidelines. i think this is the important thing to remember. what i can assure you is that in every market or in almost all markets where we sell nestle cerelac, there are options for moms with and without added sugar. like other brands, nestle is promoting its products actively with the use of influencers. these mumfluencers share content about motherhood and parenting. many say that's

transformed their lives. so this is an event, it's a vitamin brand for kids. what's really interesting, though, is that a few years ago at these types of events, it would have just been celebrities, actors, actresses, singers and well—known people. but now, the brands really want influencers to be promoting these types of products. brands use influencers because they're more relatable. but it blurs the line because they're being paid to promote these products. hi, i'm ciara magallanes, or i'm commonly known as mommy diaries ph on social media. 0k?

i do believe that momfluencers nowadays have power in influencing their following. i would see this as a really big opportunity for us because it's helping us, uh, put food on the table for our kids because, let's face it, the reality is we really get brand deals from brands, and that's how we earn money. and that's good. and the impact with our followers is they are seeing more posts. what are you looking for when it comes to brands for children and endorsing them? first, i would be looking at the ingredients first, you know, if, um, it's really safe for my kids. and next, if they haven't tried it yet, i would ask my kids to try them first, and then i would see the effects on my kids, if it's really a good option, a healthy option for them. if my kids are using

it, then... ..it�*s safe to say to my followers that, yeah, you may also ask your kids to try this. and do you encourage your, um, your followers to read the ingredients list as well? i would normallyjust show it, show on my vlogs that, hey, these are the ingredients, it's less sugar, uh, there's no... there's no trans fat, there's no added salt or. yeah, there's no added sugar, no added preservatives. because that's what's really important for me is there's no preservatives in those sorts of things and the nutrition...nutrition content is good for our kids. the issue does have some star power. the sister of the current president and daughter of former president, the dictator ferdinand marcos senior, is sponsoring a bill that would prohibit manufacturers of baby food from

adding sugar in their products. madam chair, as we have the... it proposes criminalising failure to comply and producers and manufacturers would face a jail term of one to five years. i'm a single mom, so i'm a little bit paranoid about what my children eat, and i started looking at labels and was shocked to discover how much sugar there was, and i asked if that was the same everywhere and realised that in fact, it was only asian babies, latin american babies, and african babies who were inflicted with this sort of sugar levels. this is not nutrition. you have a bill in parliament. can you explain what you're doing on behalf of the government to try and regulate these types of food ? yes. we're urging the health authorities, as well as the food and drug administration, to start regulating baby food,

at least from zero months to 36 months, the most critical time. and i'm very hopeful that it will see the light of day. there's so many bills and...the food lobbies, the huge multinationals that purvey all these foods are immensely powerful. and until today, i haven't even had a hearing. the committee hasn't met to discuss it. it's a little depressing, but i badger them from time to time, in the hope that they'll get tired of me and finally listen. part of the problem that we have found while we've been here is the labelling and the marketing of these products. how would your bill improve that, so that your citizens can get the right information about these types of foods? yes. already, we're having trouble with that section and the, um, food companies resist the labelling and the breakdown of ingredients.

so what would you like to see being done to put pressure on these companies? yes, i think we have to make more noise. it's as simple as that. and there's been a great hue and cry about education. and i do believe that the great part of it has to do with the failure in nutrition in the first place. we're not saying take cerela the whole day, but at least give one bowl, and what a difference this can make. so our product is nutritious, it's delicious, it's scientifically backed. this, i am sure of. i've been investigating added sugar in baby food for months. and behind the brightly—coloured advertising lies a complex and murky issue. as companies push deeper into the developing world and people leave behind an old way of life, their habits are transforming,

sometimes with significant health implications. the blessing is that people are rising out of poverty and climbing the economic ladder... ..and, in turn, seeking convenience and aspiration. but with growth comes change. and for people to weather it all, education is essential and regulation must adapt to have a chance at bridging the sweet divide so that parents the world over, who only want the very best for their children, are able to give them the healthiest start in life.

it has been a quiet start to christmas. some misty conditions out there and drizzle. this will be the story for the next couple of days, but one thing will change — the feel of the weather. monday was chilly, but temperatures are already a good five or six degrees up and they will continue to climb for the next hour or so. so it is an incredibly mild story and that is because we have high pressure building and the wind direction has changed

and squeezed that cooler air towards the continent. we have a weak weather front producing showery outbreaks. temperatures are certainly mild for this late december stage. temperatures range from ten to 12 degrees. wind gusts up to 50 miles an hour which will feed into outbreaks of rain into the night. a blanket of cloud will prevent temperatures from falling too far so the early risers on christmas morning will have a mild start. christmas day this is what is in store. cloud around, the quiet theme set to continue. heavier bursts in the western and northern isles. here, it will stay windy. the cloud elsewhere will break up and lift and we

shall see some glimpses of brightness from time to time. staying mild, but not as warm as today. 11 to 13 degrees as an afternoon high. almost a case of spot the difference into boxing day. the weak weather front sinks its way down into northern england. some brief glimpses of blue sky, but cloudy. highs of 13 degrees. it is likely we could see the first signs of a change as we move into the weekend. this weather event will sink south and the direction changes to north—west, which will introduce colder air across scotland. it means as we head into the new year, showers will potentially turn wintry.

live from london, this is bbc news. one of the worst starvation crises in modern times. a new report says famine in sudan has expanded to five areas and likely to spread further next year. american airlines has resumed service after grounding all its aircrafts briefly due to technical issue. singing as ukraine prepares to mark its third christmas since russia's invasion, we bring you a special report from the city of pokrovsk, the birthplace of a well—known carol. a record—smashing kiss of the sun, as nasa's solar probe makes history, with the closest ever approach to the star. and ahead of her carol service at westminster abbey, which airs tonight, princess kate encourages the world to turn to love, not fear. hello, i'm maryam moshiri. we start in sudan, where famine

is spreading, according to a global hunger monitor.