The Clampdown on Vague Claims
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has intensified its scrutiny of misleading claims on packaged food and beverages. In recent months, it has issued notices to numerous companies for using terms like 'fresh', 'natural', 'healthy',
and '100% pure' without sufficient justification. This crackdown is part of a broader push under the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, which mandates that all claims must be truthful, unambiguous, and scientifically substantiated. The regulator is targeting claims that could influence a consumer's buying decision but are not adequately backed by evidence, moving the industry away from feel-good marketing and towards verifiable facts.
Defining 'Fresh' and 'Natural'
So, what does FSSAI consider 'fresh'? According to the regulations, the term should only apply to foods that are not processed or preserved. Minimal processes like washing, peeling, chilling, or trimming are acceptable, as long as they don't alter the basic characteristics of the food. This means that a thermally processed juice in a carton, for example, cannot be called 'fresh'. Similarly, the term 'natural' is reserved for single-ingredient foods derived from a plant or animal source with nothing added. For composite foods, all ingredients must meet this standard to claim they are 'made from natural ingredients'. The use of exaggerated phrases like 'natural goodness' is prohibited.
The Burden of Proof Shifts to Brands
The core of FSSAI's new enforcement drive is the shift in responsibility. The burden is now squarely on food business operators to prove their claims. It’s no longer enough to use 'fresh' or 'healthy' as an appealing adjective; companies must have scientific evidence to back it up. For instance, a 'high protein' claim requires the product to meet a specific quantitative threshold set by the regulator. This move has forced several brands to revise their labels. One direct-to-consumer brand, for example, changed its 'no added sugar' claim to 'sweetened with dates' after FSSAI pointed out that date powder is still a form of sugar substitute.
Impact on Consumers and the Industry
For consumers, this regulatory push promises more transparency on supermarket shelves. Clearer, more honest labelling helps people make genuinely informed choices about the food they buy. For the food industry, it's a moment of reckoning. Companies are being forced to revisit their entire product portfolios and marketing strategies. While this may involve short-term costs related to rebranding and compliance, experts believe it will ultimately encourage genuine product innovation and strengthen consumer trust. Penalties for non-compliance are significant, with fines for misleading advertisements reaching up to ₹10 lakh, sending a strong signal to the industry.
A Wider Trend in Food Regulation
The focus on 'fresh' is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. FSSAI's actions are part of a wider effort to clean up food labelling in India. The regulator is also cracking down on the term 'energy drink' for beverages, misleading 'organic' labels without proper certification, and even the use of flavours meant to imitate a product's natural characteristic, such as adding 'rum flavour' to rum. Recently, major companies like Dabur have been ordered to stop using unverifiable '100%' claims on products like honey and coconut water. This consistent and widening scrutiny indicates a long-term shift in India's food safety landscape.
