The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has informed the Delhi High Court that labeling fruit juices as “100% fruit juice” is not allowed under current food laws and constitutes a misleading marketing practice. In response to a plea by Dabur, the food regulator defended its June 2024 notification, which directed food business operators to remove such claims from their product labels. The FSSAI argued that numerical expressions like “100 per cent” are not permitted under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018.
The authority clarified that its notification does not introduce any new obligations but rather reiterates existing mandates. It emphasized that the law only allows qualitative descriptors to convey the nature and quality of food products, and that numerical claims like “100 per cent” are inherently misleading and likely to confuse consumers. The FSSAI maintained that labeling reconstituted fruit juices as “100 per cent fruit juice” breaches multiple provisions aimed at consumer protection and transparency in food labeling and advertising.
Dabur had challenged the June 2024 notification, which requires food business operators to stop marketing reconstituted fruit juices as “100 per cent fruit juice”. However, the FSSAI countered that the challenge does not disclose any violation of fundamental rights, and that the grievance is merely a matter of commercial inconvenience arising out of lawful regulatory compliance. The regulator added that economic interests are not protected under the Constitution unless they infringe on rights guaranteed under Part III.
The FSSAI’s affidavit emphasized that the use of numerical expressions like “100 per cent” to describe food products is beyond the scope of current food laws and lacks statutory sanction. The authority argued that such claims are not only misleading but also infringe upon the right of consumers to make informed choices. The case highlights the importance of accurate labeling and advertising in the food industry, and the need for food business operators to comply with regulatory requirements to ensure consumer protection and transparency.