Homegrown FMCG major Dabur moved the Delhi High Court seeking protection against any "coercive" action by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) against the sale and import of its Real Activ fruit juice brand contending that the current regulations do not explicitly prohibit the use of ‘100%' claim in marketing products, according to the copy of the petition and rejoinder by Dabur seen by Moneycontrol.
The move comes as FSSAI, in its affidavit last month, stated that the '100%' claim on packaging is not permitted under existing food safety regulations, and called it misleading to consumers. The regulator specified that the “100%” claim is misleading to consumers, particularly when the product contains added water or is reconstituted from concentrate.
Dabur, in its affidavit filed on May 16, stated that the company modified the label of its fruit juice brand to "100% no added sugars and preservative” from the earlier claim of “100% Fruit Juice/ 100% Juice”. The affidavit claims that the modified label is compliant with the FSSAI notification.
"Water in Reconstituted Fruit Juices, is not an added or additional ingredient, rather merely water is used in an amount sufficient to reconstitute concentrated fruit juices/pulp to maintain the essential composition of the single strength juice.... the said practice is in line, with the requirements stipulated in the vertical product standard 2.3.6 of Fruit Juices under the FSS Standards & Additives Regulations," the company said in its petition.
In June 2024, FSSAI issued a notification directing food business operators to remove the claim of ‘100% Fruit Juices’ from the label and advertisement of fruit juices.
What FSSAI says
In an affidavit filed on April 23, the FSSAI said the “100%” claim was presumably prohibited since it was neither defined nor recognised under the FSS Act or the FSS Claims Regulations, 2018. The regulator has argued in court that the current food labelling norms do not recognise numerical descriptors like “100%,” and that such claims may give consumers a false impression about the product's composition, particularly when the juice is reconstituted or contains added ingredients like water.
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