FSSAI puts child-nutrition claims under the microscope

 

Regulator seeks evidence behind claims on infant formula and Complan; the notices raise the compliance stakes for food brands selling health benefits to parents.

By Biz Masala Desk  |  October 22, 2026

Nestlé India

Zydus Wellness

India’s food regulator has asked Nestlé India and Zydus Wellness to explain claims made for products aimed at infants and children, putting the evidence behind nutrition marketing in focus.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) sought supporting material for claims on Nestlé’s Lactogen Pro 1 Powder and NAN Excella Pro Stage 1. These included a claim that whey protein is “easy to digest” and the statement that “5 HMOs helps support normal immune system.” The regulator said the latter could imply that the product was suitable for supporting immunity in relation to a particular physiological condition.

Lactogen Pro 1

NAN Excella Pro Stage 1

Product images supplied for identification; FSSAI notices seek substantiation and are not final findings.

Zydus Wellness was asked to justify claims on Complan, including “2X faster growth,” “supports concentration and memory” and “pro immunity+ 34 vital nutrients.” FSSAI also questioned the phrase “growth comes in four flavours” in an advertisement. The notices seek explanations and scientific support for the claims; they do not, by themselves, amount to final findings against the companies.

Complan packaging displays claims questioned by FSSAI; the notice is not a final finding.

The scrutiny also reaches beyond product packaging. FSSAI issued notices to other food businesses and questioned an online promotion recommending infant milk-substitute products. The regulator said the promotion could breach rules governing the advertising and promotion of such products, according to the published account.

For food companies, the episode highlights a growing compliance challenge: a nutrition statement must work across the product pack, online listing and advertising, and the company must be able to support it. In a market where parents weigh claims about digestion, immunity, growth and brain development, the wording can shape purchase decisions—and attract regulatory attention.

The claims named in the notices; FSSAI has sought supporting evidence.

That creates a business issue as well as a regulatory one. Brands may need to review the evidence held for each claim and check that the same wording appears consistently across channels. If a claim is challenged, changes to packaging, digital listings or campaign material could follow. These are potential commercial consequences, not actions FSSAI has announced in these notices.

The FSSAI’s Advertising and Claims Regulations set the framework for claims made in food advertising and labelling. Its notices have asked the companies to explain why action should not be initiated under the Food Safety and Standards Act and related rules. The companies have been given a stipulated period to respond.

For now, the central question is whether the claims can be substantiated under the applicable rules. The notices put that question on record; the companies’ responses and any subsequent regulatory orders will determine what follows.

 

Source notes for editors

The notices are show-cause notices and requests for substantiation; they are not final findings against the companies.

·       FSSAI notices involving Nestlé, Zydus and infant-product promotions — The New Indian Express, October 21, 2026

·       FSSAI Advertising and Claims regulations and guidance

Biz Masala

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE GREAT INDIAN CINEMA RESET

Image
  BIZ MASALA | BUSINESS. MARKETS. PEOPLE. INSIGHT. From Bollywood's dominance to the pan-India blockbuster: how regional cinema, streaming and changing audience behaviour rewrote the business of Indian films By Murthy ASR | Biz Masala | 17 October 2026 Hero artwork created for this story; conceptual illustration, not a documentary photograph. The opening scene: A business no longer controlled by one city For decades, Mumbai occupied the commanding heights of Indian cinema. Hindi films enjoyed cultural and commercial reach, while Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada cinema had powerful home markets but more limited national distribution. S. S. Rajamouli's Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) helped demonstrate that a film rooted in one linguistic industry could travel nationally when storytelling, scale, marketing and distribution worked together. Baahubali 2 and later successes from Telugu and Kannada cinema reinforced the lesson. A decade later, dubbed releases are ...
Read more

SINGARENI COAL PUZZLE : THE CONTRACT QUESTION

Image
  What the CAG found in Singareni’s coal operations—and what remains to be answered By Murthy ASR   |   Biz Masala Investigative Series The audit trail is public. The follow-through is the next question. Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is jointly owned by the Governments of Telangana (51%) and India (49%). It is not simply a mining company: its coal feeds power generation and industry, and its operating decisions have consequences for workers, consumers and public finances. A subject-specific compliance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), covering overburden removal, coal transportation and stowing-material contracts during 2018–19 to 2022–23, put several contract-design and operational questions on the public record. The report was tabled in the Telangana legislature on 30 March 2026. Its findings are historical and specific to the contracts and periods examined; they do not, by themselves, establish the cause of later pro...
Read more

WHO TESTS THE MEDICINES INDIA MAKES?

Image
  BIZ MASALA SIGNATURE STORY Inside the business of pharmaceutical testing laboratories — the money, the market and the science behind a medicine’s quality By Murthy ASR   |   18 October 2026 Illustrative editorial image: pharmaceutical analytical testing laboratory. A medicine may be manufactured on a modern production line, packed in a clean facility and shipped across the world. But before a batch can be trusted, its quality has to be demonstrated. Behind that assurance is a less visible industry: laboratories that test ingredients, finished formulations, impurities, stability and, where relevant, biological characteristics. For India, this is more than a technical service. The country’s pharmaceutical manufacturers supply domestic patients and regulated markets overseas. Their products must meet specifications, documentation requirements and regulatory expectations that vary by medicine and destination. Testing laboratories help generate the evidence on ...
Read more