By Richa Naidu

VEVEY, Switzerland (Reuters) – Nestle on Tuesday sought to play down any differences with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been critical of packaged foods, stating it shared the next U.S. health agency chief's desire to improve agricultural practices and nutrition.

Kennedy, picked last week by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to head the Department of Health and Human Services, expressed during his presidential campaign that he wanted to "Make America Healthy Again" and previously criticized Kellogg's Fruit Loops cereal in an interview.

Nestle (NS:NEST), the world's largest packaged foods group, offers a variety of products such as KitKat snacks, Nescafe coffee, Maggi noodles, and Purina pet foods.

At Nestle's capital markets day for investors, Steve Presley, executive vice president and CEO of Nestle's North America business, told Reuters he was "less concerned" about Kennedy's past comments. "If you step back from some of the emotional issues, what he believes in is more regenerative, cleaner agriculture, which we fully believe in," he stated.

Presley mentioned that Nestle, which includes U.S. brands like Nesquik drinks, Hot Pockets, and Stouffer's frozen meals, had engaged with the current U.S. administration and intended to collaborate with the incoming one.

"We have spoken to the (Trump transition) team absolutely as one of the largest manufacturers, both from an industry perspective and to help shape the agenda in terms of how they can help create economic opportunity in the U.S.," he said.

Following Kennedy's appointment announcement, packaged food stocks, including Kellogg and Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), experienced declines.

"It's still early," Presley noted. "What was campaign rhetoric and what will move to policy?"

He added that Nestle, found in 97% of U.S. households, has been pursuing improvements in nutrition and health for years. For example, in 2019, the Swiss company announced that it would provide nutrition ratings for its food products, enabling customers to assess the healthiness of their purchases.

"So for us, is it still too early to tell? Yes. But do we believe in the idea of better agricultural practices? Absolutely. Do we believe in better nutritional product profiles? We do."