Nestle, the maker of Hot Pockets and Haagen Dazs, says they are concerned about the health of their customers. So the world’s largest food company has created two new entities: Nestle Health Science S.A. and the Nestle Institute of Health Science. They will concern themselves with finding “cost effective ways to prevent and treat acute and chronic diseases in the 21st century,” the company announced last month.

In its announcement, Nestle said it is targeting “a new opportunity between food and pharma” and that it would develop foods designed to “prevent and treat health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and Alzeimer’s disease.” The company is leaving little room for interpretation here: It means to peddle processed food products as medicine.

Is big food trying to become big pharma? – Oct. 27, 2010