Products sold by companies including Nestle, Pepsico and Unilever were assessed as part of a global index published by the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), its first since 2021.

The non-profit group found that across 30 companies, the products sold in low-income countries scored lower on a star rating system developed in Australia and New Zealand than those sold in high-income countries.

In the Health Star Rating system, products are ranked out of 5 on their healthiness, with 5 the best, and a score above 3.5 considered to be a healthier choice.

In low-income countries, the multinationals’ portfolios rated 1.8 on the system. In high-income countries, where more products were tested, they were 2.3.

“It’s a very clear picture that what these companies are selling in the poorest countries in the world, where they are more and more active, are not their healthier products,” said Mark Wijne, research director at ATNI, in an interview with Reuters.

“It’s a wake-up call for governments in these countries to be vigilant,” he added.

It is the first time the index has split the assessment into low and high-income countries.

ATNI said the index was important as packaged foods are increasingly playing a part in the obesity crisis that is now a global phenomenon. More than one billion people worldwide are living with obesity, according to the World Health Organization. The World Bank estimates that 70 per cent of people who are overweight or obese live in low-and-middle-income countries.

“We have committed to grow our sales of more nutritious foods, as well as guiding people towards more balanced diets,” a Nestle spokesperson said by email, adding that Nestle also fortifies products to help close nutrient gaps in developing countries.

A PepsiCo spokesperson declined to comment. The company last year set new goals to lower sodium in its potato chips and add ingredients like whole grains into its foods.

“We acknowledge that there is always more to do, both at a business and industry level,” said Isabelle Esser, chief research, quality and food safety officer at Danone, which was the best performer in the index.

— Additional reporting by Jessica DiNapoli and Richa Naidu

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Danone’s finance chief told Reuters last week that the company was instead buying soybeans from countries in Asia, ahead of a European Union rule requiring companies to prove they are not sourcing from deforested land.

Aprosoja Brasil, a group representing farmers in the world’s largest soybean producer and exporter, said in a statement that Danone’s move showed “lack of knowledge” of Brazil’s production process and was “discrimination against the country.”

“There is no doubt that Brazilian producers, tired of being unfairly singled out as villains, will start to have more than enough reasons to put Danone and other global brands on the list of companies to be boycotted in Brazil,” the group said.

Brazil’s agriculture ministry in a separate statement listed the country’s environmental efforts and called the EU legislation “arbitrary, unilateral and punitive,” while also criticizing companies.

“Brazil is ready to cooperate, but demands to be treated with the fairness and balance that guide international trade,” the statement said. “Untimely and unreasonable stances as announced by European companies with a strong presence in the Brazilian market must be rejected.”

Danone’s Brazilian unit said in a statement that it continues to buy Brazilian soybeans that meet local and international regulations. The firm’s headquarters did not immediately return a request for comment.

The EU Deforestation Regulation, covering imports of commodities like cocoa, coffee and soy, is scheduled to come into effect on Dec. 30, though the EU Commission this month proposed a 12-month delay.

Companies such as Nestle and Unilever have been gearing up to meet the new regulation before they face potential fines of up to 20 per cent of turnover.

Brazilian law states that farmers must preserve between 20 per cent and 80 per cent of legal reserves, depending on the biome where they are planting. But rainforest destruction rates in the country remain high despite a drop under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

While major traders have vowed to stop sourcing soybeans from newly cleared land in the Amazon rainforest, soy farming continues to be a major driver of deforestation in the nearby Cerrado savanna.

Aprosoja said that “although there is deforestation, there is also a lot of natural regeneration.”

The group suggested that Brazil’s government could file complaints before the World Trade Organization and look for “compensation measures” from the EU as Brazilian farmers are now facing losses due to the European legislation.

— Reporting by Roberto Samora; Additional reporting by Richa Naidu

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