Withdraw тАШmisleadingтАЩ Bournvita ads, packaging and labels, says NCPCR
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights issued a notice to Mondelez International, India after allegations that Bournvita has high sugar content that could be harmful to children.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has issued a notice to Mondelez International, India тАУ the company that makes Bournvita тАУ to withdraw all misleading advertisements, packaging and labels after allegations that it has a high sugar content that could be harmful to children.
In its notice on Wednesday, the NCPCR has said that it has taken cognizance of the matter under Section 13(1)(j) of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act after having received a complaint that alleges that Bournvita, which promotes itself as a health powder/health drink that promotes a childтАЩs growth and development, тАЬcontains a high percentage of sugarтАЭ and substances which could cause тАЬharmful impact to the health of childrenтАЭ.
тАЬThe Commission in this regard observes that the product manufactured by your company is misleading the customers through its product packaging and advertisements. The Commission observes that your productтАЩs labelling, packaging, display and advertisements claims are misleading for the general public. Further your productтАЩs labelling and packaging also fails to acknowledge the correct information regarding the content used in the product тАУ Bournvita,тАЭ the commission said in its notice.
The notice further says that Bournvita fails to display тАЬmandatory disclosures in line with the guidelines and regulations of the Food Safety Standard Authority of India and under the Consumer Protection ActтАЭ.
The commission observes that Bournvita тАЬprima facieтАЭ seems to have bypassed the threshold of added sugar with the use of labels тАШMaltodextrinтАЩ, тАШLiquid GlucoseтАЩ which needed to be displayed under the title of тАЬadded sugarтАЭ, according to the FSSAIтАЩs Labelling and Display Regulations, 2020.
The NCPCR has further said that prima facie, another FSSAI regulation seems to have been violated by Bournvita which says that the claims (made by the product) will specify the тАЬnumber of servings of the food per day for the claimed benefitтАЭ.
