Nestles, long known for its sweet treats including ice cream and candy bars has been expanding its offering in recent years, developing newer products that are meant to garner the company's share of the health food market. Bottled waters and other items bearing the Nestle name are now staples on local grocery store shelves, but the company wants to take a bigger bite out of that market. Company officials have now announced that they are opening a new hospital like clinic which will help them to not only develop new products for taste and consumer appeal but to do some of the clinical studies to make sure that they are safe and most of all, that they are going to stand up to any and all health claims that the company might want to label the new items with. The company says that the new units are necessary and were instituted in direct response to increasing pressure on the food industry.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has been cracking down on what it calls false, misleading or exaggerated claims on food product labels saying that many are either disputed directly by peer reviewed studies or are not supported by enough research. Critics are concerned that Nestles is only trying to circumvent some of the rules and studies that are required for foods by copying the business model and practice of the pharmacy industry. Nestle Technology Chief, Werner Bauer says that it is not true, only that the company wants to become one of the worldwide leader's in health and wellness.

Nestle's is no stranger to the FDA's crackdown. In 2009, the agency ruled that Nestle was misleading the public about some of the health benefits in certain drinks marketed directly to children.

More than seven hundred various scientists will be employed by the company worldwide including around forty directly employed in the brand new unit. Bauer stated that the company will have to follow the same guidelines for the new research unit which has already been accredited as a health facility. Basic research methods, standards and rules, including peer reviewed data and publication into the appropriate journal will be followed.

The new unit has many of the same machines and testing equipment found in research labs and medical care facilities around the world and will also feature areas where subjects will taste test proposed new products before they are released to the general public.