Dabur moves Delhi HC against FSSAI order banning '100%' claims on honey, ghee and other products

Dabur India on Thursday moved the Delhi High Court against a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) order prohibiting the sale of several food products carrying "100 per cent" claims, arguing that the regulator acted without issuing a prior show-cause notice or granting the company an opportunity to be heard, PTI reported.

Senior counsel appearing for Dabur mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya for urgent listing. The petition has been listed for hearing on Friday before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.

Why FSSAI acted

The dispute stems from an FSSAI prohibition order issued earlier this week against Dabur India over the sale of food products carrying "100 per cent" claims.

The regulator directed the company to stop selling products such as honey, apple cider vinegar, virgin coconut oil, sesame oil, cow ghee, coconut water, coconut milk and other food items marketed with claims including "100 per cent Natural", "100 per cent Pure", "100 per cent Purity Guaranteed", "100 per cent Organic" and "100 per cent Tender Coconut Water".

According to the FSSAI, such claims violate the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, as they are ambiguous, unverifiable and likely to mislead consumers.

The regulator also directed Dabur to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 15 days.

Dabur's challenge

In its petition, Dabur contended that the prohibition order was issued in violation of the principles of natural justice and statutory provisions.

The company argued that the FSSAI neither issued a prior show-cause notice nor provided an opportunity for a hearing before passing the order.

Dabur further claimed that the regulator lacked the statutory authority to issue such a prohibitory order and described the order as "non-speaking", ambiguous and passed without proper application of mind.

The company also argued that the term "100 per cent" is widely used by several major food brands across different product categories and that publicly releasing the prohibition order had unfairly damaged Dabur's reputation.

Earlier findings

The FSSAI had earlier said that Dabur Himalayan Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and Dabur Organic Honey displayed the Jaivik Bharat logo without a valid FSSAI organic endorsement.

It had also objected to Dabur Hommade Coconut Milk being marketed with the claim "100 per cent Purity", stating that such claims are not permitted for compound food products under the advertising regulations.

The regulator said it had previously directed Dabur to discontinue the claims but found that no satisfactory corrective action had been taken.