FSSAI makes six food companies withdraw potentially misleading ‘100%’ label claims
FSSAI has directed companies including Amway India, Emami and Bonn Biscuits to remove “100%” claims from packaging, labels and advertising. Amway has also stopped selling old stock carrying its “100% Pure Coconut Oil” claim.
What happened
FSSAI compelled six food companies, including Amway India, Emami and Bonn Biscuits, to remove potentially misleading “100%” claims from labels, packaging and
Key facts
- 6 companies
- “100%” claims
- 76 gm
Why this matters
In diligence, scrutinize target brands’ label-claim evidence, regulatory history and obsolete-packaging exposure, as compliance weaknesses can create hidden liabilities and depress brand value.
What to watch
- FSSAI notices naming additional brands, categories, or specific claim language.
- Formal guidance defining acceptable substantiation for “100%,” “pure,” “natural,” or similar absolute claims.
- Marketplace delistings, retailer return requests, or state food-safety enforcement linked to the claims.
- Consumer litigation, advertising-standards complaints, or social-media allegations that broaden reputational damage.
- Evidence of significant packaging write-offs, inventory provisions, or sales disruption in affected companies’ disclosures.
- Immediately freeze new production and advertising carrying unqualified “100%” claims until regulatory and legal clearance.
- Map all India SKUs, marketplace listings, distributor stock, point-of-sale materials, and influencer content for absolute purity, composition, health, or naturalness claims.
- Prioritize sell-through, sticker relabeling, return, or destruction decisions for legacy inventory; reserve for write-offs and packaging-obsolescence costs.
- Replace absolute claims with substantiated, product-specific descriptions and retain test reports, specifications, and approval trails.
- Prepare retailer and customer-service guidance to distinguish labeling non-compliance from any product-quality or safety issue.