Is Nutella bad for you? Not in the sense that it is poisonous. It is a sweet treat: more than half of the jar is sugar, and much of the rest is fat, so it belongs in the same category as chocolate or biscuits rather than in the "healthy breakfast" category its old adverts suggested. Popular claims that it hides MSG in its vanillin, or that its ingredients are toxic, do not stand up. The real issues are sugar, saturated fat and the environmental cost of palm oil, and those are worth understanding.
What is actually in a jar of Nutella
Nutella's ingredients, in order of weight, are sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skimmed milk powder, whey powder (reduced-mineral whey), soy lecithin as an emulsifier and vanillin for flavour. Hazelnuts make up about 13% of the spread and fat-reduced cocoa about 7.4%. Sugar is around 58% by weight.
A two-tablespoon (37 g) serving, the US serving size, provides about 200 calories, 11 g of fat (3.5 g of it saturated), 21 g of sugar and 2 g of protein. For comparison, 21 g of sugar is about five teaspoons, which is close to the roughly 25 g a day that the World Health Organization suggests as an ideal upper limit for free sugars for an adult.
The spread grew out of post-war Italy. In 1946, Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker in Alba, Piedmont, sold a hazelnut and cocoa paste called Giandujot, a way of stretching scarce chocolate with local hazelnuts. A spreadable version, Supercrema, followed in 1951, and in 1964 the recipe was refined and renamed Nutella. Today Ferrero sells it in dozens of countries and is said to buy around a quarter of the world's hazelnut crop.
The MSG and vanillin myth
A long-circulating article claimed Nutella secretly contains monosodium glutamate (MSG, E621) "hidden" in vanillin. This is false.
- Vanillin is a single molecule, C₈H₈O₃, the main flavour compound of vanilla. It contains no nitrogen, so it cannot contain glutamate, an amino acid. Real vanilla pods contain about 2% vanillin by dry weight; most vanillin used in food is made from guaiacol or from lignin, a by-product of wood pulp.
- MSG cannot be hidden under "flavouring". The US Food and Drug Administration requires added MSG to be listed as "monosodium glutamate". It also notes that MSG is made by fermenting starch, sugar beet, sugar cane or molasses, and that glutamate occurs naturally in foods like tomatoes and cheese.
- MSG itself is not a poison. The FDA classes it as generally recognised as safe. A scientific review commissioned by the agency found only that some sensitive people may get brief, mild symptoms such as headache or flushing after 3 g or more taken without food, while a typical serving of a food with added MSG contains less than 0.5 g.
The older claim that MSG in food causes Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or other neurological diseases is not supported by the evidence on dietary MSG. Glutamate is a normal part of our diet: an average adult takes in about 13 g a day from protein alone.
One small, real caveat: vanillin can trigger migraines in a minority of people who are sensitive to it. If you notice a pattern like that, talk to a doctor.
Palm oil: the health side and the environmental side
Palm oil is what gives Nutella its smooth texture at room temperature without hydrogenated fats. It has two separate issues.
Health
Palm oil is about half saturated fat, mostly palmitic acid. Reviews, including a 2017 American Heart Association advisory on dietary fats, link high intakes of saturated fat with higher LDL cholesterol, and the World Health Organization advises limiting saturated fat. That is a reason to eat Nutella in moderation, not a reason to call it toxic.
A second, more technical concern involves contaminants that form when vegetable oils are refined at high temperatures, especially glycidyl esters and 3-MCPD. In 2016 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) flagged these, with palm oil giving the highest levels. EFSA did not set a safe level for glycidyl esters, and set a tolerable daily intake for 3-MCPD that it revised in 2017. Ferrero has reportedly said that it processes its palm oil at controlled temperatures to keep these compounds low. The concern applies to refined vegetable oils in general and is mainly relevant to people who eat large amounts of such products, including babies on formula.
Forests and wildlife
Here the critics have a strong point. Palm oil supplies roughly 38% of the world's vegetable oil, and Indonesia and Malaysia produce most of it. Large areas of rainforest and carbon-rich peat swamp in both countries have been cleared for oil-palm plantations, which has driven habitat loss for orangutans; the Sumatran orangutan is listed as critically endangered, with habitat loss linked to palm oil cultivation among the main causes.
At the same time, oil palms produce far more oil per hectare than soy, rapeseed or sunflower, so simply swapping palm oil for another oil can need more land. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), set up in 2004, certifies plantations against social and environmental criteria, though campaigners argue its standards and enforcement are too weak. The European Union's 2023 deforestation regulation now requires that palm oil sold in the EU is not linked to recent forest clearance. If this matters to you, look for certified sustainable palm oil and check a brand's sourcing reports.
Soy lecithin and whey: overblown fears
Soy lecithin (E322) is a fatty emulsifier extracted during soybean oil processing. It keeps the oil and solids in the spread from separating, and it is used in chocolate, margarine and baked goods. EFSA re-evaluated lecithins in 2017 and found no safety concern at the levels used in food. Claims that it is "toxic sludge" or full of solvents misdescribe a refined, tested food additive. People with a soy allergy should check labels, as with any soy product.
Many soybeans worldwide are genetically modified. A 2016 report by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found no substantiated evidence that approved genetically engineered crops are less safe to eat than conventional ones. Debates about GM farming are better framed around ecology, seed ownership and farming practice than food toxicity.
Reduced-mineral whey is simply whey from cheese-making with part of the minerals removed. It helps with texture and adds a little milk protein. It is the same kind of ingredient used in infant formula, and it is not harmful.
The "healthy breakfast" lawsuit
Ferrero's marketing has been more of a problem than its ingredients. In the United States, a class action argued that adverts presenting Nutella as part of a nutritious breakfast for children were misleading. In 2012 Ferrero settled for $3 million and dropped the health claims from its advertising. The lesson for shoppers is to read the nutrition panel rather than the slogan: a spread that is mostly sugar and fat is a treat, whatever is pictured next to it.
Lighter homemade hazelnut spreads
If you love the taste but want more nuts and less sugar, a homemade spread is easy. These two recipes are based on ideas shared by the vegan food blogs My Darling Vegan and Antigone XXI. Both are still sweet, so portion size still matters.
Hazelnut and cacao spread (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup hazelnuts, soaked 8 to 10 hours, then drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
- 2 to 4 tbsp coconut milk
Grind the hazelnuts in a food processor or strong blender until they turn into a smooth nut butter; with a weaker machine this can take 10 to 15 minutes, with pauses to scrape down the sides. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, salt and cacao and blend again, then loosen with coconut milk a spoonful at a time. Keep it in the fridge and use within about a week, because soaked nuts and milk shorten its life.
Date, almond and carob spread (one 330 ml jar)
- 15 dates (about 90 g)
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/3 cup carob powder
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Soften the dates in hot water for about 10 minutes, or in cold water for two hours, then drain. Blend everything until smooth, scraping the sides as you go. If it is too thick, add a little water or oil rather than milk. Carob gives a cocoa-like flavour without caffeine.
Bottom line
Nutella is a dessert spread, not a poison and not a health food. Enjoy it occasionally, keep the portion small, choose products with certified sustainable palm oil if forests matter to you, and do not believe the MSG story.
Sources: Wikipedia: Nutella; Wikipedia: Vanillin; US FDA: Questions and answers on monosodium glutamate (MSG); Wikipedia: Palm oil; EFSA: re-evaluation of lecithins (E 322) as a food additive; National Academies: Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects (2016).
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