NEW DELHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Friday said it has initiated legal action against Nestle India over non-compliance related to its infant nutrition products under the Food Safety and Standards Act. The products include NAN Excella Pro Stage-1 and Lactogen Pro-1.
In its post on Instagram, FSSAI said it had examined the infant nutrition products and their promotional material available on e-commerce platforms.
For NAN Excella Pro Stage-1, the food regulator said the claims relating to ‘5 HMOs’ and whey protein were observed. In Lactogen Pro-1, it flagged a claim that whey protein is easy to digest.
“Accordingly, clarifications were sought from Nestle India Limited regarding the above claims,” FSSAI said in its post.
Both products were found to be in contravention of Regulation 4(2) of the Foods for Infant Nutrition (FSS) Regulations, 2020, which restricts promotional claims/material intended to increase the saleability of infant foods, and Section 3 of the IMS Act, 1992, which prohibits their advertisement and promotion.
A sample of follow-up formula manufactured by the company was found sub-standard with respect to biotin content during laboratory analysis, it added.
“The sample was subsequently referred for re-analysis, and the referral laboratory also found the sample non-conforming with respect to the prescribed biotin requirement under the Food Safety and Standards (Foods for Infant Nutrition) Regulations, 2020”, it added.
The FSSAI said, "In view of the above contraventions, three separate adjudication cases have been filed against the company in respect of the three products."
In a statement, a Nestle India spokesperson said, "Our products are fully compliant with all the applicable regulations. The said products and their labels were approved by the expert committee of FSSAI."
"In response to the notice, we have again submitted our detailed response to the authorities regarding statements appearing on the label, which are factual in nature and supported by scientific literature," said the spokesperson.
