From 1 July Brands can’t use words like ‘Pure’, ‘Natural’, ‘Fresh’ & ‘Authentic’ on their food products

May 3: Advertisers sometimes get carried away while choosing words to describe products. We often see pure, natural, fresh, and authentic splashed across the television screens, newspapers and even large billboards next to products; whether they are natural and fresh, is anyone’s guess. From July 1, food brands will have to procure permission from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to use such words such as pure, natural, fresh, and authentic while describing products. They will also have to carry a disclaimer about the use of words under the latest FSSAI mandate.

According to a media report, two researchers from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune studied 1,200 Indian food advertisements and observed that nearly 60 per cent of such advertisements are misleading, because of the flowery language and false claim they make. They neither follow the FSSAI rules nor the codes of the Advertising Standards Council of India. To keep a strict check on the food advertisement world, FSSAI has laid down this new regulation.

In case the brand fails to do so then the manufacturers will have to shell out Rs 10 lakh as fine for the violation. The latest regulation also states that companies and brands using words that mean fresh, natural, pure, etc. – will have to give a clear disclaimer stating “this is only a brand name or trademark and does not represent its true nature.”

According to FSSAI, companies can refer to a particular food as ‘fresh’ only if they are unprocessed except for being washed, peeled, chilled, or trimmed. The company needs to make sure that the product is safe and above-mentioned processes doesn’t alter out its basic characteristics. Also, the word “natural” will be permitted only for food derived from a plant, animal, micro-organism or mineral. The end product must not have any external ingredient added to it.