The Delhi High Court has stayed FSSAI’s order directing Dabur to halt sales of products carrying “100%” claims, citing the lack of a prior hearing and granting interim relief.
The Delhi High Court on Friday granted interim relief to Dabur India by staying the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) order directing the FMCG major to stop selling several products carrying labels such as “100% Pure”, “100% Natural”, “100% Organic” and “100% Purity Guaranteed”.
Justice Amit Mahajan observed that Dabur had established a prima facie case, noting that the company had been selling the products for decades and that the prohibitory order appeared to have been passed without giving it an opportunity to be heard. The court has stayed the operation of the order until the next hearing, scheduled after two weeks.
“The court is prima facie of the opinion that the prohibitory order ought not to have been passed without giving an opportunity of hearing. Till the next date of hearing, the impugned order is stayed,” said Justice Mahajan, listing the case for hearing after two weeks.
Dabur’s senior counsel argued that the FSSAI order was passed in violation of principles of natural justice, in absence of any show cause notice or hearing.
The central government’s standing counsel defended the order, arguing that Dabur was earlier given “improvement notices” and advisories. The company’s “100 per cent” claim on food products was misleading, the counsel argued.
More from BusinessDeclining the request to not grant interim relief at this stage, the court remarked, “They have been selling it for decades. Now suddenly you can’t [stop them from doing that].”
Why FSSAI censored Dabur products
In a social media post August 3, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said it has issued a prohibition order to Dabur India Ltd over the sales of food products carrying misleading “100 per cent” claims, including honey, apple cider vinegar, virgin coconut oil, sesame oil, cow ghee, coconut water, coconut milk and other such items.
According to the food safety regulator, the use of the 100 per cent claims is in contravention of the FSS (Advertising & Claims) Regulations, 2018, as they are ambiguous, unverifiable and likely to mislead consumers.
The FSSAI order directed Dabur to discontinue the sale of products bearing “100%” claims, arguing that such descriptions could mislead consumers. The affected products include Dabur Honey, Dabur Sunderbans Honey, Dabur Virgin Coconut Oil, Dabur Cow Ghee, Dabur Himalayan Apple Cider Vinegar, Real Activ 100% Tender Coconut Water and Dabur Organic Honey.
How Dabur countered FSSAI order
Challenging the regulator’s action, Dabur argued that the order violated principles of natural justice as it was issued without a show-cause notice or an opportunity to present its case. The company also contended that the FSSAI had failed to explain how the claims violated existing regulations and that the order lacked a valid legal basis under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The company further submitted that the order could force it to recall or repackage products already available in the market and had already caused commercial disruption after being publicised by the regulator and communicated to retail partners.
The case comes amid heightened scrutiny by the FSSAI over marketing and labelling claims in the food industry, with regulators seeking stricter compliance from food manufacturers. The court’s interim order provides temporary relief to Dabur while the legal challenge proceeds.
