Nestle, Zydus, Abbott face India scrutiny over claims on children's products
India’s food safety regulator issued notices to Nestle India, Zydus Wellness, Abbott Healthcare and others over promotional claims for products for infants and children that it said breached rules.
1. Regulator seeks evidence
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India issued notices concerning products including Complan, Lactogen Pro 1 Powder, NAN Excella Pro Stage 1 and infant milk substitutes. It asked Nestle India to support claims about digestive and immune-system benefits for its infant formula products, and Zydus Wellness to provide scientific justification for claims including Complan’s tagline, “grow taller, faster. clinically proven 2X growth.”
2. Scrutiny expands
The regulator also issued notices to social media influencer Ira Fathima and companies including Abbott Healthcare and Nestle India over an Instagram reel promoting infant milk substitutes. The action follows a proposal to ban adding sucrose and fructose to foods for infants up to six months old, as India steps up scrutiny of food safety and pushes for front-of-pack warning labels.
