India’s food regulator has issued notices to Nestle India Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. for allegedly making misleading claims regarding nutrition supplements, extending its nationwide safety crackdown.
India’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has issued notices to Nestlé India and Hindustan Unilever Ltd over misleading claims on the packaging of some of their food products.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said Nestlé’s Resource Renal Vanilla Flavour Powder was intended to be used as a dietary supplement to manage a medical condition. However, the company had neither sought prior approval for the product nor displayed a label stating whether it was vegetarian or non-vegetarian, the regulator said in a post on X.
In an X post on Saturday, FSSAI said: “Claims such as 'Nutrition for Strong Bones', 'Clinically Proven to Help Improve Bone Strength in 6 Months' and 'Improves Bone Health' were found to be misleading or non-compliant with applicable regulations.”
FSSAI flags labelling concerns over Nestlé product
According to the regulator, Nestlé’s Resource Renal Vanilla Flavour Powder was marketed as a dietary supplement for people managing a medical condition. However, the company allegedly failed to obtain prior approval and did not mention the product’s vegetarian or non-vegetarian status on its label.
The regulator flagged these issues as violations of food safety rules and sought a response from the manufacturer.
Hindustan Unilever’s Horlicks products under scrutiny
The FSSAI also raised concerns over certain products sold by Hindustan Unilever. It said the company’s Horlicks Mother’s Plus Kesar 400 g BIB made misleading claims related to “happy birth weight”.
The regulator also flagged claims made about Horlicks Women’s Plus products, including “improves bone health”, “healthy muscles” and “no added sugar”.
The FSSAI said the claims were in contravention of its rules and sought responses from both companies over the alleged violations.
Nestle India did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
Hindustan Unilever said in an emailed response that its two products comply with all applicable requirements, adding that it will share “scientific and regulatory evidence” with the authorities.
Over the past few months, India’s federal food regulator has initiated action against food manufacturers, hotels, restaurants, and e-commerce platforms over misleading labels, inappropriate marketing, running illegal units, and for improper food storage practices. Local agencies have also stepped up their scrutiny after social media complaints over poor product standards.
The food regulator had initiated legal action against Nestle India in September for breaching infant nutrition marketing rules and substandard manufacturing. Nestle said at the time that its products were compliant with regulations.
(With inputs from news agency Bloomberg)
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