Nestlé in society Creating Shared Value and meeting our commitments 2015

Nestlé in society:
Creating Shared Value
Nutrition, health
and wellness
Rural development
Water
Environmental
sustainability
Human rights
and compliance
Our
people
Customer health and safety G4-DMA
The Molecular Nutrition group has already entered into
several strategic collaborations, most notably with the US-based
Waters Corporation, to help us meet our group commitment.
New analytical developments for vitamin analysis are under
way as part of the collaboration with Waters Corporation.
The initiative taken by the Molecular Nutrition group opens
research avenues to study how an individual’s nutritional
status is affected by their health and the changes in bodily
functions caused by disease or injury (known as
physiopathology) that allow for the development of adverse
medical conditions. This work is being deployed in clinical
studies to identify and quantify unmet nutritional needs at the
molecular level. The group also collaborates with the School
of Life Sciences at the EPFL in Switzerland. In 2015, this
relationship was formalised through a first PhD programme
offered through the school’s Integrative Food Science and
Nutrition Centre and the Molecular Nutrition group.
Read more on our skin health work.
Fighting muscle wasting
in the elderly
As life expectancy increases, sarcopenia is becoming ever
more prevalent. Although sarcopenia is not generally
recognised as a disease by the medical community, it is
characterised by the loss of muscle mass and function due to
age, often leading to falls and loss of independence in the
elderly population. No specific treatment is available, other
than recommendations to exercise and take protein and
multi-vitamin supplements.
NIHS seeks to find new approaches to sarcopenia treatment
through its collaboration with the EpiGen, an international
alliance of researchers. The Multi-Ethnic Molecular determinants
Of human Sarcopenia (MEMOSA) project is a three-year
programme, launched in March 2015, with the aim of developing
methods of identifying the condition at a molecular level.
The MEMOSA project, funded by NIHS, involves the analysis
of genetic material and proteins by researchers to identify new
recipients of intervention and biomarkers that can link these
molecular profiles with the nutritional deficiencies associated
with sarcopenia. These findings will then be used to develop
new interventions for sarcopenia sufferers from a variety of
ethnic backgrounds via innovative nutritional solutions.
Nestlé Research Center (NRC)
Our research activities allow us to develop foods and beverages
that address specific health and lifestyle issues, giving us
understanding that we share through our private network.
By focusing on five platforms, the NRC helps guide Nestlé’s
nutrition, health and wellness activities from a research
perspective. With a staff of more than 600, representing
approximately 50 nationalities and a wide range of scientific
disciplines, the NRC drives science and technology, from basic
nutrition and health research to applied research for product
development and application.
The five platforms
Our five platforms are designed to help Nestlé fulfil its
commitment to offer consumers safe, healthy and tasty
foods and beverages of the highest quality.
• Food safety and integrity: we aim to overcome
complex food safety and integrity challenges by
improving processes at different stages, including
the optimisation of heating processes, raw material
selection and packaging;
• First 1000 days and Healthy Kids: we are
committed to developing nutritional concepts and
programmes, which promote the health of mothers,
infants and growing children. Through our focus on
the first 1000 days of a child’s existence, we seek to
fulfil specific nutritional needs and target early
environmental and behavioural factors to promote
optimal growth and development for long-term health
and wellness;
• Healthy ageing: as life expectancy increases, we
develop nutrition and service solutions to support the
health and wellness of an ageing population;
• Healthy pleasure: we are committed to delivering
products that taste great, are healthy and exceed
consumer expectations, through science-based
solutions; and
• Sustainable nutrition: we develop research to help
promote the physical and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food and water to meet
people’s dietary and cultural needs and enable an
active and healthy lifestyle while minimising
environmental impact.
Nestlé in society – Creating Shared Value and meeting our commitments 2015 53