Dabur Honey, Ghee, Oil Cannot Use ‘100%’ Labels: FSSAI Issues Prohibition Order
FSSAI has issued a prohibition order against Dabur India, barring the sale of several products carrying unverifiable '100%' claims, including honey, ghee, coconut oil and apple cider vinegar. The regulator said the labels violate food advertising rules and directed Dabur to submit a compliance report within 15 days. The company's shares fell over 3%.
India's food safety regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has issued a prohibition order against Dabur India, barring the sale of several food products carrying unverifiable "100%" claims. The action covers products including honey, ghee, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar and coconut-based products that were advertised with labels such as "100% Natural," "100% Pure," and "100% Purity Guaranteed." Following the development, Dabur's shares fell more than 3% in early trade on Tuesday.
The regulator said Dabur continued to display the disputed claims on its website despite an earlier notice directing the company to discontinue them. FSSAI has now asked the company to submit an "Action Taken Report" within 15 days outlining the corrective measures taken.
Why Did FSSAI Issue the Prohibition Order?
According to FSSAI, the claims violate the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising & Claims) Regulations, 2018.
The regulator said absolute claims such as "100% Natural," "100% Pure," "100% Purity Guaranteed," "100% Organic," and "100% Tender Coconut Water" are ambiguous, cannot be objectively verified and may mislead consumers.
FSSAI also stated: "Such labelling breaches the FSS (Advertising & Claims) Regulations, 2018, since absolute claims of this kind are ambiguous and cannot be objectively verified, making them likely to mislead consumers."
Which Dabur Products Are Affected?
The prohibition order covers several products listed on Dabur's website, including:
- Dabur Honey
- Dabur Organic Honey
- Dabur Himalayan Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
- Dabur Virgin Coconut Oil
- Dabur Sesame Oil
- Dabur Cow Ghee
- Dabur Coconut Water
- Dabur Hommade Coconut Milk
FSSAI also found that Dabur Himalayan Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and Dabur Organic Honey displayed the Jaivik Bharat organic certification logo without valid FSSAI endorsement.
Additionally, Dabur Hommade Coconut Milk was marketed as "100% Purity," which the regulator said is not permissible for compound food products under the applicable regulations.
Earlier Warning Ignored, Says FSSAI
The regulator said this was not the first time it had raised concerns with Dabur. According to FSSAI, the company had previously been instructed to discontinue the claims, but no satisfactory corrective action followed. As a result, the regulator issued the prohibition order and directed Dabur to file an Action Taken Report within 15 days.
Dabur India confirmed that it has received the FSSAI notice and is reviewing the content identified by the regulator. In its initial response, the company did not dispute the findings and indicated that it was assessing the observations made by the food safety authority.
The regulatory action comes shortly after Dabur reported healthy June-quarter earnings.
During its July 29 earnings call, the company said its honey portfolio, including premium products such as Organic Honey, recorded strong high single-digit growth and gained around 150 basis points in market share.
While the FSSAI order is unrelated to the company's financial performance, it places greater scrutiny on product labelling and advertising claims in one of Dabur's key growth segments.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 04, 2026 01:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).