Top FMCG brand Dabur India has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the food regulator action against the sale of products carrying the claims like 100% pure, 100% natural, 100% purity guaranteed, and 100% organic.
Representing the FMCG senior advocate Sandeep Sethi sought urgent listing of the matter before the bench comprising the a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia. The court accepted the request and allowed the matter to be heard at the earliest. However, no official date has yet been announced.
The top Indian brand has come under the FSSAI scandal after it directed it to stop selling certain fruit products carrying a label claiming 100%. The regulator has argued that the expressions are ambiguous, difficult to verify, and capable of creating a misleading impression among consumers. The products being scrutinized are honey, ghee, apple cider vinegar, virgin coconut oil, sesame oil, coconut water and coconut milk. The food regulator’s concern is that an absolute 100% claim can suggest complete purity or superiority that can objectively not be achieved.
The move by FSSAI is a part of a broader effort to tighten the way food companies communicate product information to Consumers.
In May 2025, the regulator had already advised food businesses to avoid using the term 100% on food labels, packaging and promotional materials, saying the expression is not defined under India’s food regulator and can create false impression of absolute purity or superiority. As per the Food Safety and Standard Advertising and Claims Regulations 2018, companies are set to sbide by claims that are truthful and unambiguous, meaningful and not misleading.
The regulatory scrutiny is not limited to Dabur. Earlier in June, the Central Consumer Protection Authority imposed a Rs 1 lakh penalty on food such as Storia and Mrs. Bector’s for misleading 100% claims, and instructed them to remove the terms from the packaging, websites, and digital platforms.
The court’s consideration of Dabur’s challenge will thereby need to be closely watched. If the High Court upholds FSSAI’s directive, FMCG brands across categories may have to redesign packaging, advertising campaigns and product communication that rely on absolute purity or naturalness claims. Conversely, a ruling in Dabur’s favour could offer greater clarity on how such claims can be used and substantiated under India’s evolving food safety and labelling framework