FSSAI Issues Notices to Gemini Edibles, BigBasket, and Flipkart Over Alleged Misleading Health Claims on Rice Bran Oil

India's food regulator FSSAI has issued notices to Gemini Edibles & Fats India, BigBasket, and Flipkart over alleged misleading health claims on Freedom Cooking Rice Bran Oil, citing violations of the Advertising and Claims Regulations, 2018. The regulator also found Gemini Edibles operating an e-commerce platform without a valid central licence, suspended the licence of DNV Food Products Ltd for hygiene and sanitation violations, and cancelled the licence of Jhanvittanni for continued non-compliance.

Regulatory notices from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India have been directed at three companies — Gemini Edibles & Fats India Ltd, BigBasket, and Flipkart India — over health claims attached to 'Freedom Cooking Rice Bran Oil' that the authority contends may be misleading to consumers. According to the regulator, the item was advertised across online retail sites and social media platforms, with marketing materials asserting it could lower harmful cholesterol levels, support or raise beneficial cholesterol, and deliver a natural oryzanol concentration exceeding 10,000 parts per million. According to a notice posted on social media by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the health-related assertions about cholesterol management and cardiovascular benefits fell outside the scope of what the Advertising and Claims Regulations, 2018, authorise for edible vegetable oils, including rice bran oil. Regulatory notices landed on three companies — Gemini Edibles & Fats India, Flipkart India, and Innovative Retail Concepts, the entity behind BigBasket. Notices have gone out to all three food business operators demanding written justification for why proceedings under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 ought not to be initiated against them. In a separate finding, FSSAI's review of Gemini Edibles & Fats India determined that the company had been listing and dispatching food products through its own e-commerce platform without appearing to hold the central licence required to cover such online trading activity. DNV Food Products Ltd had its operating licence placed under suspension after inspectors visiting the premises identified areas where food safety standards had not been met. Four categories of infractions were documented — covering how food or goods were stored, the cleanliness of facilities, sanitation practices, and whether the proper licences were held. Jhanvittanni's operating licence was revoked by FSSAI after the firm repeatedly fell short of the standards set out under food safety rules.

FSSAI Issues Notices to Gemini Edibles, BigBasket, and Flipkart Over Alleged Misleading Health Claims on Rice Bran Oil

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FSSAI Issues Notices to Gemini Edibles, BigBasket, and Flipkart Over Alleged Misleading Health Claims on Rice Bran Oil

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