Why FSSAI has stopped Dabur from selling some food products with '100%' claims

Food safety regulator FSSAI has prohibited Dabur India from selling several food products with misleading "100%" claims, saying such labelling is likely to mislead consumers.

In an order issued to Dabur India Ltd, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said products sold on the company's website were carrying claims such as "100% Natural", "100% Pure", "100% Purity Guaranteed", "100% Organic" and "100% Tender Coconut Water".

The regulator said such claims are ambiguous, unverifiable and in contravention of the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018.

The prohibition covers products including honey, apple cider vinegar, virgin coconut oil, sesame oil, cow ghee, coconut water, coconut milk and other food items carrying such claims.

FSSAI also found that Dabur Himalayan Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and Dabur Organic Honey were displaying the Jaivik Bharat logo without a valid FSSAI organic endorsement, violating the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017.

Dabur Homemade Coconut Milk was marketed with the claim "100% Purity", which the regulator said is not permissible for compound foods under the advertising and claims regulations.

According to the order, FSSAI had earlier issued a notice directing the company to discontinue the misleading "100%" claims. However, it said no satisfactory corrective action was taken.

The regulator has directed Dabur India to immediately stop the sale of the food products identified in the notice, as well as all other food products carrying misleading "100%" claims.

It has also asked the company to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 15 days.

"We have received the FSSAI notice and are in the process of checking the content mentioned in the notice on our website," Dabur India said in a statement.

In the last few months, the FSSAI has been using social media to inform the public at large about its enforcement actions against various food business operators, as well as e-commerce companies selling these products on their online marketplaces.

Many alcoholic beverage makers and energy drink manufacturers have come under its radar.