In a crackdown on violations of labelling norms, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued notices to several food companies for misleading brand names, trade names, and product claims. The food regulator has issued notices to these players stating that they are in violation of provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
The brands include Healthy Master, Neuherbs True Vitamin, Plant B, The Health Factory, Troovy, Healthy Choice, Emami’s Healthy & Tasty and Health Aid. Notices were also sent to Organic Wisdom, Shine Organic, Two Brothers Organic Farms, Storia, World of Organic and Iota Water.
In a social media post on X, FSSAI said, “These FBOs are directed to strictly comply with the established labelling and display regulations to prevent consumer deception.”
In its notices, FSSAI pointed out that the trade names of brands including snacks brand Healthy Master, The Health Factory (Zero Maida Whole Wheat Bread and Zero Maida Pizza Base) , Healthy Choice (Poha), Emami’s edible oil brand Healthy & Tasty and Health Aid (Salmon Oil) are “likely to mislead the consumers.” It also stated that these trade names “appear to be in contravention of applicable FSSAI regulations.” In the case of Troovy’s Healthy Mix chips, claim “healthy” is misleading as it contains other ingredients.
Meanwhile, in its notice to Neuherbs True Vitamin, it pointed out the term “ True Vitamin” is neither defined nor recognised in the regulations and may mislead consumers. It noted that the trade name “ PLAN B Plant Based Vegan”, creates the impression that the products are vegan but the products have not obtained prior approval for vegan food and vegan food endorsements in their FSSAI license.
In its notices to companies Organic Wisdom, Shine Organic and Two Brothers Organic Farms, the food safety regulator pointed out that these companies’ brand names are likely to mislead consumers regarding their organic status of the products. “ It noted that these brands did not have the requisite certification, FSSAI Jaivik Bharat logo and the necessary organic endorsement.