Consumers buying popular Dabur products such as honey, cow ghee, apple cider vinegar, edible oils and coconut water may soon notice a change on product labels. The company has begun removing '100 per cent' claims from several food products after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) prohibited the use of such claims, saying they are misleading and not permitted under existing regulations.

The move comes a day after the food regulator barred Dabur India from selling multiple food products carrying claims such as "100 per cent Natural", "100 per cent Pure", "100 per cent Purity Guaranteed", "100 per cent Organic" and "100 per cent Tender Coconut Water".

The products mentioned by FSSAI include honey, apple cider vinegar, virgin coconut oil, sesame oil, cow ghee, coconut water, coconut milk and other similar food items.

Responding to the regulator's action, Dabur said it has already started changing product labels, advertisements and website content referred to in the FSSAI order by removing the '100 per cent' claims. According to the company, most of these changes have either been completed or are currently underway.

The FMCG major, however, maintained that its product labels comply with the prevailing legal and regulatory framework and are in line with long-standing industry practices.

"Dabur stands by the purity and quality of its products and has never made any misleading claims," a company spokesperson said.

The company added that it is responding to the regulator's concerns and will continue to engage with FSSAI to resolve the matter. It also said it is seeking legal advice on its future course of action, indicating that it may challenge the regulator's order through an appropriate legal forum.

Explaining its decision, FSSAI said the claims displayed on Dabur's products were ambiguous, could not be independently verified and were likely to mislead consumers, making them a violation of the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising & Claims) Regulations, 2018.

The regulator also said Dabur Himalayan Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and Dabur Organic Honey were found displaying the Jaivik Bharat logo without a valid FSSAI organic endorsement.

In addition, Dabur Hommade Coconut Milk was marketed with the claim "100 per cent Purity", which FSSAI said is not allowed for compound food products under the same regulations.

According to the regulator, it had earlier directed Dabur to discontinue the disputed claims. However, it said the company did not take satisfactory corrective action, following which the prohibition order was issued.

With PTI inputs