FSSAI asks licensing wing to issue notice to Patanjali for misleading ads

Food regulator FSSAI has asked its central licensing authority to issue a show cause notice to Patanjali Ayurved over complaints about misleading advertisement of mustard oil product.

The development has come after edible oil industry body Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) filed complaints with FSSAI and advertising industry watchdog ASCI against Patanjali Ayurved for alleged misleading advertisements for mustard oil and sought action against the yoga guru Ramdev-promoted firm.

FSSAI in an order asked its Central Licensing Authority, Northern Region, to issue a show cause notice to Patanjali Ayurved for "violations of FSS Act 2006, Rules and Regulations made thereunder and submit action taken report thereon to this office at the earliest".

The copy of the order was made public SEA today. Sources in FSSAI said that the authority has sought a response from Patanjali over the issue. There was no immediate response to queries sent to Patanjali in this regard.

"Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has also taken serious note of misleading statements made in advertisement of Kacchi Ghani oil and hauls up Patanjali for misleading advertisement," SEA said in a statement.

The advertisement is unnecessarily misleading the consumer and also derogatory and denigrating to the oil industry, SEA had said, adding that the vegetable oil industry was a responsible industry and such unfounded communications negate the image of the industry.

Also, ASCI has rapped Patanjali Ayurved for "false and misleading" claims in its various advertisements. "The advertisement's claims 'Other than Kacchi Ghani process most of the other edible refined oils and mustard oil are made using neurotoxin Hexagon solvent extraction process. To make profits at the cost of consumers' health many companies mix cheap palm oil in mustard oil", were not substantiated and the claims were misleading," ACSI said last week.

Patanjali, on the other hand, had insisted that its commercial was based on facts, findings and research. They did not intend to mislead anyone.