The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Saturday (October 17) issued formal notices to Nestlé India Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. over alleged misleading claims and labelling non-compliances on two of their flagship products: Horlicks Women’s Plus Chocolate Nutrition Drink and the Nescafé Ready-to-Drink range. In addition, the FSSAI also suspended licenses for M/s Sukhdarshan Pharma and M/s Bala Ji Food Products for serious food safety violations. The strict enforcement actions against several major brand manufacturers and local FBOs after they were found to have misleading claims, non-compliance with labelling regulations, and severe food safety violations, according to the FSSAI.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">FSSAI has issued notices to Nestlé India Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. regarding misleading claims and non-compliances. Additionally, licenses have been suspended for M/s Sukhdarshan Pharma and M/s Bala Ji Food Products for serious food safety violations. Recent inspections and audits have led to strict enforcement actions against several major brand manufacturers and local FBOs for misleading claims, non-compliance with labelling regulations, and severe food safety violations: FSSAI&mdash; IANS (@ians_india) <a href="https://x.com/ians_india/status/2111459998580801755?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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<h3>Horlicks Women’s Plus under scrutiny</h3>In its notice to M/s Hindustan Unilever Limited regarding the “Horlicks Women’s Plus Chocolate Nutrition Drink 400g,” the FSSAI flagged several claims as misleading or non-compliant with applicable regulations. These include “Nutrition for Strong Bones,” “Clinically Proven to Help Improve Bone Strength in 6 Months,” and “Improves Bone Health.” The regulator also found the “Healthy Muscles” claim to violate provisions governing the use of the term “healthy” in food claims. Additionally, the “No Added Sugar” claim was deemed misleading given the presence of maltodextrin in the product, while the claim of “100 per cent RDA of Calcium, Vitamin D &amp; K2” was found not to comply with applicable food safety requirements. The notice further pointed out that the Nutritional Information table was not provided in the prescribed manner. The FSSAI has directed the Food Business Operator (FBO) to respond within the stipulated period, and has asked licensing authorities and e-commerce platforms to take necessary action under applicable food safety laws. Separately, the regulator also observed that the products were found to fall under the standardised category of “Flavoured Milk” as prescribed under the FSS (Food Products and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, making their declaration as “Proprietary Food” incorrect. Such inconsistent labelling and advertising were found to contravene the FSS (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, and the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020. The concerned FBOs have been asked to clarify why action should not be initiated under the FSS Act, 2006, with the FSSAI warning that further steps, including halting non-compliant advertisements and issuing corrective ads, may follow.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/cattle-feed-bran-in-biscuits-detergent-in-milk-fssai-acts-against-3-companies-1792236729409">Cattle-feed bran in biscuits, detergent in milk: FSSAI acts against 3 companies</a><h3>Nestlé India’s Nescafé range flagged for inconsistent labelling</h3>In a separate notice, the FSSAI flagged M/s Nestlé India Limited, along with manufacturers M/s Schreiber Dynamix Dairies Private Limited and M/s Lotus Dairy Products Pvt. Ltd., over non-compliance issues in the “Nescafé Ready-to-Drink” range. The regulator found that Nestlé India was marketing and selling “Nescafé Intense Café” Cappuccino flavour, “Nescafé Choco Mocha” and “Nescafé Chilled Latte” on e-commerce platforms. The products were found to carry inconsistent descriptions on their packaging, the front of the pack declared “Flavoured Milk,” while the back declared “Proprietary Food – 1.12 Dairy Based Drink.” Adding to the inconsistency, e-commerce listings described the products as “Coffee Flavoured Milk,” despite the back-of-pack declaration as “Proprietary Food.” The FSSAI also noted that product descriptions on e-commerce platforms contained claims such as being “crafted with the goodness of flavoured double toned milk,” which did not align with the declared composition and category of the product. The FSSAI has not specified the timeline for compliance in the Nestlé notice but has flagged the matter for appropriate regulatory follow-up. In a similar move, the FSSAI has proposed banning the addition of sucrose and fructose in infant nutrition products made for babies up to six months old. It decided to bring stringent rules on added sugars in a market valued at $1.16 billion.

The strict enforcement actions against several major brand manufacturers and local FBOs after they were found to have misleading claims, non-compliance with labelling regulations, and severe food safety violations.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Saturday (October 17) issued formal notices to Nestlé India Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. over alleged misleading claims and labelling non-compliances on two of their flagship products: Horlicks Women’s Plus Chocolate Nutrition Drink and the Nescafé Ready-to-Drink range. In addition, the FSSAI also suspended licenses for M/s Sukhdarshan Pharma and M/s Bala Ji Food Products for serious food safety violations. The strict enforcement actions against several major brand manufacturers and local FBOs after they were found to have misleading claims, non-compliance with labelling regulations, and severe food safety violations, according to the FSSAI.

The strict enforcement actions against several major brand manufacturers and local FBOs after they were found to have misleading claims, non-compliance with labelling regulations, and severe food safety violations.

FSSAI issues notices to Nestlé and Hindustan Unilever over misleading claims, non-compliances

To show solidarity towards the ongoing protests around the world against the racial discrimination that the African community faces worldwide, Unilever has decided to remove few misleading and discriminatory words from their products' packets.

On Thursday, Unilever announced that the company has decided to take skin care portfolio to the next level as they aim to make it a racism-free line of products.

The company will be removing words such as&nbsp;‘fair/fairness’, ‘white/whitening’, and ‘light/lightening’&nbsp; from its products;' packs and communication.

One of the most common products in India, the "Fair and Lovely" brand, will also be renamed and relabeled in the next few months.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-mobilizes-national-guard-troops-to-protect-monuments-in-washington-308436">Also read:&nbsp;US mobilizes National Guard troops to protect monuments in Washington</a>

Sunny Jain, President Beauty and&nbsp;Personal Care, said, “We are fully committed to having a global portfolio of skin care brands that is inclusive and cares for all skin tones, celebrating greater diversity of beauty. We recognise that the use of the words ‘fair’, ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right, and we want to address this. As we’re evolving the way that we communicate the skin benefits of our products that deliver radiant and even tone skin, it’s also important to change the language we use.”

The brand has been aiming towards a more inclusive approach for few years now, the company claims. The officials said that while the company has, till now, been focusing on women impowerment, they will also stand up for the minority communities now.

“We have been working on the evolution of our Fair &amp; Lovely brand, which is sold across Asia, progressively moving to a more inclusive vision of beauty that celebrates skin glow. We have changed the advertising, communication and – more recently – the packaging in South Asia, and we think it’s important that we now share the next step that we have been working on: changing the brand name. We will also continue to evolve our advertising, to feature women of different skin tones, representative of the variety of beauty across India and other countries. We want Fair &amp; Lovely to become a brand that celebrates glowing and radiant skin, regardless of skin tone,” added Jain.

Following criticism from an online petition and social media, an Indian matrimony website, Shaadi.com too has decided to remove a search filter labelled 'fairness'. The search filter allowed people to demand for specific skin tones, which has faced backlash in the past too.&nbsp;

The decisions come after protests erupted all over the world, starting from the US, after an unarmed African American man was brutally murdered by an American police cop.

To show solidarity towards the ongoing protests around the world against the racial discrimination that the African community faces worldwide, Unilever has decided to remove few misleading and discriminatory words from their products' packets.

To show solidarity towards the ongoing protests around the world against the racial discrimination that the African community faces worldwide, Unilever has decided to remove few misleading and discriminatory words from their products' packets. On Thursday, Unilever announced that the company has decided to take skin care portfolio to the next level as they aim to make it a racism-free line of products. The company will be removing words such as ‘fair/fairness’, ‘white/whitening’, and ‘light/lightening’ from its products;' packs and communication. One of the most common products in India, the "Fair and Lovely" brand, will also be renamed and relabeled in the next few months. Also read: US mobilizes National Guard troops to protect monuments in Washington Sunny Jain, President Beauty and Personal Care, said, “We are fully committed to having a global portfolio of skin care brands that is inclusive and cares for all skin tones, celebrating greater diversity of beauty. We recognise that the use of the words ‘fair’, ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right, and we want to address this. As we’re evolving the way that we communicate the skin benefits of our products that deliver radiant and even tone skin, it’s also important to change the language we use.” The brand has been aiming towards a more inclusive approach for few years now, the company claims. The officials said that while the company has, till now, been focusing on women impowerment, they will also stand up for the minority communities now. “We have been working on the evolution of our Fair & Lovely brand, which is sold across Asia, progressively moving to a more inclusive vision of beauty that celebrates skin glow. We have changed the advertising, communication and – more recently – the packaging in South Asia, and we think it’s important that we now share the next step that we have been working on: changing the brand name. We will also continue to evolve our advertising, to feature women of different skin tones, representative of the variety of beauty across India and other countries. We want Fair & Lovely to become a brand that celebrates glowing and radiant skin, regardless of skin tone,” added Jain. Following criticism from an online petition and social media, an Indian matrimony website, Shaadi.com too has decided to remove a search filter labelled 'fairness'. The search filter allowed people to demand for specific skin tones, which has faced backlash in the past too. The decisions come after protests erupted all over the world, starting from the US, after an unarmed African American man was brutally murdered by an American police cop.

Unilever to remove 'whitening' and 'fairness'; Shaadi.com removes fairness filter

India's main stock indexes closed at record highs on Monday as the expected signing of a Phase 1 <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-us-had-constructive-phone-call-on-trade-report-262656">China-US</a>&nbsp;trade deal and strong results from IT bellwether <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/equity-indices-edge-up-infosys-profit-jumps-by-4-pc-on-good-q3-results-273855">Infosys Ltd</a> helped boost sentiment.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/equity-indices-edge-up-infosys-profit-jumps-by-4-pc-on-good-q3-results-273855">Also read:&nbsp;Equity indices edge up, Infosys profit jumps by 4 % on good Q3 results</a>

Investors awaited retail inflation data for December, due later in the day. At an expected 6.20 percent&nbsp;according to a Reuters poll, inflation is set to hit its highest in more than five years.

"Rising inflation after December has been priced in by the market because toward the end of the year (2019) we had seen upticks in inflation," said Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The Nifty 50 Index ended 0.59&nbsp;percent higher at 12,329.55, while the benchmark S&amp;P BSE&nbsp;Sensex&nbsp;Index jumped 0.62&nbsp;percent&nbsp;to 41,859.69.

Both indexes had touched intraday all-time peaks at 12,337.75 and 41,889.63, respectively, earlier in the session.

Infosys' shares ended 4.8&nbsp;percent higher, making it the biggest gainer on the Nifty after the IT bellwether beat quarterly profit estimates and cleared its top executives of financial misconduct allegations. The Nifty IT index closed 1.67&nbsp;percent higher.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/board-member-at-yes-bank-quits-cites-governance-concerns-273443">Yes Bank Ltd</a> ended 5.92&nbsp;percent&nbsp;lower and led the losses on the Nifty.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/board-member-at-yes-bank-quits-cites-governance-concerns-273443">Board member at Yes Bank quits, cites governance concerns</a>

The private sector lender on Friday rejected a $1.2 billion investment from Canadian investor Erwin Singh Braich and Hong Kong-based SPGP Holdings and launched a $1.4 billion share sale.

Shares of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/indian-markets-steady-in-early-trade-ahead-of-cabinet-meeting-inflation-figures-261732">Britannia Industries</a> and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/indias-consumer-goods-growth-slows-as-rural-demand-cools-nielsen-236908">Hindustan Unilever Ltd</a> gained 1.85&nbsp;percent&nbsp;and 2.1 percent.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/sensex-crashes-by-788-points-on-us-iran-tensions-banks-and-auto-companies-bleed-272541">IndusInd Bank</a> Ltd ended 3.25&nbsp;percent&nbsp;higher ahead of its quarterly results on Tuesday and was the second-biggest gainer on the Nifty.

India's main stock indexes closed at record highs on Monday as the expected signing of a Phase 1 China-US trade deal and strong results from IT bellwether Infosys Ltd helped boost sentiment.

India's main stock indexes closed at record highs on Monday as the expected signing of a Phase 1 China-US trade deal and strong results from IT bellwether Infosys Ltd helped boost sentiment. Also read: Equity indices edge up, Infosys profit jumps by 4 % on good Q3 results Investors awaited retail inflation data for December, due later in the day. At an expected 6.20 percent according to a Reuters poll, inflation is set to hit its highest in more than five years. "Rising inflation after December has been priced in by the market because toward the end of the year (2019) we had seen upticks in inflation," said Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Financial Services. The Nifty 50 Index ended 0.59 percent higher at 12,329.55, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex Index jumped 0.62 percent to 41,859.69. Both indexes had touched intraday all-time peaks at 12,337.75 and 41,889.63, respectively, earlier in the session. Infosys' shares ended 4.8 percent higher, making it the biggest gainer on the Nifty after the IT bellwether beat quarterly profit estimates and cleared its top executives of financial misconduct allegations. The Nifty IT index closed 1.67 percent higher. Yes Bank Ltd ended 5.92 percent lower and led the losses on the Nifty. Also read: Board member at Yes Bank quits, cites governance concerns The private sector lender on Friday rejected a $1.2 billion investment from Canadian investor Erwin Singh Braich and Hong Kong-based SPGP Holdings and launched a $1.4 billion share sale. Shares of Britannia Industries and Hindustan Unilever Ltd gained 1.85 percent and 2.1 percent. IndusInd Bank Ltd ended 3.25 percent higher ahead of its quarterly results on Tuesday and was the second-biggest gainer on the Nifty.

Nifty, Sensex end on record highs on Infosys, US-China trade deal optimism

India's consumer goods industry is losing steam as spending in the country's rural heartland cools and small manufacturers lose competitive advantages in a slowing economy, market research firm Nielsen said on Thursday.

Volume growth in India's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector slowed to 6.2 per cent&nbsp;in the three months to June from 9.9 per cent&nbsp;in the previous quarter, Nielsen said, citing internal data from retail research.

"The sentiments echo those in India's economic environment, with GDP moving down," the report said.

In Jan-March, India's economy grew at its slowest pace in more than four years, while retail inflation hit an eight-month high in June on higher food prices.

Growth in the consumer goods sector in rural India, where over two-thirds of Indians live, was slowing at twice the rate of urban areas in the previous few quarters, Nielsen said.

Higher raw material costs and slowing demand in the foods sector have hurt small manufacturers, the report added.

India's biggest FMCG companies also posted disappointing results in the March quarter. Hindustan Unilever Ltd, which owns brands such as Dove, Surf excel and Lakme, reported a smaller-than-expected rise in profit, while rival Dabur India Ltd posted a fall in profit.

Nielsen also cut its forecast for FMCG growth for the first half of 2019 to 12 per cent against their earlier prediction of 13-14 per cent.

India's consumer goods industry is losing steam as spending in the country's rural heartland cools and small manufacturers lose competitive advantages in a slowing economy, market research firm Nielsen said on Thursday.

India's consumer goods industry is losing steam as spending in the country's rural heartland cools and small manufacturers lose competitive advantages in a slowing economy, market research firm Nielsen said on Thursday. Volume growth in India's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector slowed to 6.2 per cent in the three months to June from 9.9 per cent in the previous quarter, Nielsen said, citing internal data from retail research. "The sentiments echo those in India's economic environment, with GDP moving down," the report said. In Jan-March, India's economy grew at its slowest pace in more than four years, while retail inflation hit an eight-month high in June on higher food prices. Growth in the consumer goods sector in rural India, where over two-thirds of Indians live, was slowing at twice the rate of urban areas in the previous few quarters, Nielsen said. Higher raw material costs and slowing demand in the foods sector have hurt small manufacturers, the report added. India's biggest FMCG companies also posted disappointing results in the March quarter. Hindustan Unilever Ltd, which owns brands such as Dove, Surf excel and Lakme, reported a smaller-than-expected rise in profit, while rival Dabur India Ltd posted a fall in profit. Nielsen also cut its forecast for FMCG growth for the first half of 2019 to 12 per cent against their earlier prediction of 13-14 per cent.

India's consumer goods growth slows as rural demand cools: Report