04 August,2026 04:56 PM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
An inspection of products listed on Dabur India`s website found several items carrying `100 per cent` claims that were ambiguous. Pic/ X
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has prohibited Dabur India Ltd from selling several food products carrying misleading '100 per cent' claims, saying such labelling violates food safety and advertising regulations.
In a post on social media, the food regulator said it had issued a prohibition order against the company over the sale of products marketed with claims such as '100 per cent Natural', '100 per cent Pure', '100 per cent Purity Guaranteed' and '100 per cent Organic'.
The order covers a range of products, including honey, apple cider vinegar, virgin coconut oil, sesame oil, cow ghee, coconut water, coconut milk, and edible oils.
According to the regulator, an inspection of products listed on Dabur India's website found several items carrying '100 per cent' claims that were ambiguous, unverifiable and likely to mislead consumers.
FSSAI said the use of such claims violates the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, which prohibit misleading or unsubstantiated claims on food labels and promotional material.
Responding to the development, Dabur India said it had received the FSSAI notice and was examining the contents of the order.
According to reports, Dabur India said in a statement, "The company has received the FSSAI notice and is currently reviewing the content referred to in the notice on its website."
Meanwhile, the Centre on Tuesday clarified that the FSSAI initiated enforcement action against certain alcoholic beverage manufacturers over the use of flavouring substances that mimic standardised liquor and allegedly misleading age-related claims on product labels.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said investigations found that some manufacturers were producing alcoholic beverages using spirit or extra-neutral alcohol and adding external flavours to recreate the taste and aroma of products such as rum and whisky.
The ministry said laboratory tests found artificial or nature-identical flavours in sampled rum and whisky products, making them sub-standard under the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018.
It also flagged the "7 years old blended" claim on an Old Monk XXX Rum variant as misleading, stating that the age of a blended spirit must be determined by the youngest spirit in the blend.
Based on laboratory findings, FSSAI issued prohibition-of-sale orders against products manufactured at facilities operated by Mohan Rocky Springwater, United Spirits, INBREW Beverages and Associated Alcohol & Breweries.
The affected brands include Old Monk rum variants, McDowell's No.1 Rum, Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky, Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum, Antiquity Blue Whisky and Royal Challenge Whisky.
The ministry clarified that flavours such as coffee and vanilla remain permissible where legally allowed. However, adding flavours that imitate the standardised alcoholic beverage itself, such as rum flavour in rum or whisky flavour in whisky, violates existing regulations.
It also stressed that the issue is limited to certain manufacturers and does not reflect the entire alcohol industry.
