EXPLOSIVE BEDI: DHONIS LUCKY TO STILL BE CAPTAIN SPORT

T
CALCUTTA TUESDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2012 Rs 2.50
Product: Complan Memory Producer: Heinz India Charge A declaration that the drink has memory chargers is misleading Product: Britannia Nutrichoice Biscuits Producer: Britannia Industries Charge Advertisement about product being diabetic-friendly with complex carbohydrates and no added sugar is misleading Product: Horlicks Producer: GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Charge A claim that kids can become taller,stronger, sharper is misleading and deceptive Product: Saffola Producer: Marico Charge The use of the word losorb technology among other claims in advertisement is misleading

38 PAGES

XXCL

www.telegraphindia.com

Taller? Better show proof

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT New Delhi, Nov. 26: Indias food regulatory agency has indicted several household brands, including Britannia biscuits, Horlicks health drinks and Kelloggs breakfast cereals, for what it says are misleading claims about some of their food products. The Union government informed Parliament today that the health ministrys Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has initiated prosecution in 19 cases where companies have been charged with making misleading claims about their food products in either labels or advertisements.
The authority has also sent notices in 19 other cases in which various companies appear to have either made false or dubious claims or released misleading advertisements about their food products, the information and broadcasting ministry said in a statement laid in the Rajya Sabha. Several of the complaints had been reported earlier but they have now been put in the public domain through the official statement in the House. The FSSAI is expected to first send notices to companies that it believes have violated rules and wait for their responses before initiating prosecution. During the hearings, both sides the FSSAI and the company would have opportunities to argue their cases. The 19 prosecution cases were all filed earlier this year and most hearings are yet to begin. The countrys food standards laws impose certain restrictions on nutritional and health claims on labels and in advertisements to ensure that products are not mis-

Shelf to street, scanner on daily habits

labelled or promoted through exaggerated claims. The safety watchdog is prosecuting manufacturers of several childrens health drinks, including Complan Memory, Boost, Horlicks and Bournvita Little Champs, for what it says are violations of food regulations. The agency said Complan Memory, produced by Heinz India, comes with a declaration that it contains memory chargers and the product label shows pictures of students with books which, the FSSAI said, will mislead the public into assuming that the drink will improve childrens performance in studies. Last year, Jay Karan, a pharmacologist at the Government Medical College in Surat, had written in the journal Indian Pediatrics that the claims relating to the growth of children made by the makers of Complan were exaggerated. The food regulator has also objected to GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcares claim that its drink called Boost provides three times more stamina than sadharan chocolate drink. The FSSAI said this claim was misleading and the producer had not submitted a specific study on this product to substantiate this claim. The FSSAI has said that GlaxoSmithKlines claim that Horlicks helps children become taller, stronger, and sharper, is misleading and deceptive in nature. The agency has described the claim made by Kellogg that people who eat low-fat breakfast like its Special K cereals tend to be slimmer than those who dont as misleading and deceptive. An expert in human nutrition said that while childrens health drinks are designed to deliver concentrated levels of nutrients, they typically do

CLAIMS
Some of the alleged violations for which prosecution proceedings have started, according to a written reply in the Rajya Sabha by the Union information and broadcasting ministry

TEST OF

Product: PediaSure Producer: Abbott India Charge A claim on product label that it helps a childs growth and development is misleading Product: Kelloggs Special K Producer: Kellogg India Charge A claim that those who eat the cereal tend to be slimmer is misleading and deceptive Product: Rajdhani Besan Producer: Rajdhani Flour Mills Charge A heart logo and the claim karlo dil se dosti are both misleading

Cry for car pollution tax

OUR BUREAU

Product: Bournvita Little Champs Producer: Cadbury India Charge A claim about the presence of DHA in the product and its benefits is deceptive

Product: Kissan Creamy Spread Producer: Hindustan Unilever Charge Claim that it contains three times more essential nutrients than sadharan butter is misleading
what it says are misleading claims in advertisements. A claim about a food product needs to be clinically proven, supported by research published in peer-reviewed scientific or medical journals, said Kamala Krishnaswamy, former director of the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. The FSSAI has also indicted Abbott India for what it says is the companys misleading claim that its product, Pediasure, helps in a childs growth and development.

Product: Engine Mustard Oil Producer: Hari Vegetable Products Charge The claim of health and vigour and zero cholesterol is misleading

New Delhi, Nov. 26: The Supreme Court has sought the opinion of the Centre on a proposal to levy a compensation charge on all four-wheelers in Delhi to curb pollution by discouraging the use of personal means of transport. If the proposal which has laid down specific figures is accepted and enforced in the capital, it is certain to be widened to other states. However, most plans to restrain the use of diesel cars, which guzzle subsidised fuel meant for the poor, have been non-starters till now. Senior counsel Harish Salve, who is assisting a special forest bench as amicus curiae, moved the application, which sought a one-time charge of 25 per cent on new diesel vehicles and annual levies of 4 per cent on existing diesel cars and 2 per cent on petrol four-wheelers in the national capital. The one-time levy can be collected by dealers and the annual charge by insurance companies during renewals, the counsel said. If the onetime levy is allowed, owners of new diesel SUVs will have to cough up between Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 15 lakh extra. The special forest bench of

Four-wheeler levies mooted in the application

"New diesel: One-time "Existing diesel: 4% "Existing petrol: 2%

THE PLEA

charge of 25% of price

Justices Aftab Alam, K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar sought the Centres response within four weeks. Only 2 per cent and 4 per cent? The figure seems to be low, the bench said. When the bench asked Salve about his mode of transport, the counsel replied: Your lordship, I have both petrol and diesel vehicles. But he hastened to add that he would pay the charge. Salve told the court that around 1,400 new vehicles join the transport stream every day in Delhi alone. Pollution levels in the city have risen to unhealthy levels, he added. A strong disincentive to curb the growth of personal diesel cars is urgently needed, said Anumita Roychowdhury , executive director for air pollution research at the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.

not contain the mix of fibre and range of nutrients available from wholesome food. The labels always show what a product contains, not what is missing, said R. Hemlatha, a senior scientist at the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad. Wholesome food, Hemlatha said, is available through a standard mix of cereals, pulses, vegetables and fruits. The FSSAI is also prosecuting the producers of two brands of edible oil Saffola and Engine Mustard Oil for

TTMARKETS
INDEX NSE NIFTY RS/$ GOLD CHANGE 5635.90 " 9.30 55.74 33000 BSE SENSEX 18537.01 " 30.44

"

0.22 +170

Xaviers varsity status

St. Xaviers College wants the state government to accord it the status of a state-aided minority university , allowing it to reserve up to half its PG seats for minorities. METRO

INBRIEF

Govt wins FDI round one, readies for next

to the parties demanding a debate under Rule 184 to reconsider their stand as the New Delhi, Nov. 26: Parties Ready for debate majority is in favour of leavcontrolling over 325 MPs under any rule ing the decision to the Speaktoday refrained from mak"Trinamul, Congress, er. We have heard all the paring voting an inflexible conNCP, NC, DMK, SP, BSP, ties and now we will take a dition for debating foreign RLD, RJD, Muslim decision in consultation with direct investment in retail, League, JMM the presiding officers. gifting the UPA a booster Only under Rule 184 Although Kamal Nath sashot and wiggle room ahead which entails voting id accepting the Rule 184 deof the final decision. mand would set a bad preceAmong those who left it "BJP, JD(U), Akali Dal, BJD, AIADMK, TDP, Shiv dent, he did not rule out the to the Speakers decision and Sena, CPM, CPI, Forward possibility of voting on FDI. indirectly helped the governBloc, RSP, JD(S) Sources said the government was a standout: the ment would first push for a Trinamul Congress which debate under Rule 193, which is not followed appeared to be responding to multiple comby voting. If such a step does not help repulsions. (See Page 4) sume normal business in Parliament and the The immediate outcome of the all-party Opposition continues to insist on a voting meeting called to break the winter session provision, the government may , as a last relogjam was that the NDA and the Left, which are still insisting on Rule 184 that entails vot- sort, consider accepting an adjournment motion on FDI that was moved by Samajwadi ing, found themselves in a minority . members on the first day of the session. The UPA found a breather from several A debate on an adjournment motion is fofronts. The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the llowed by voting. An adjournment motion alBahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the two outside so has a censure provision and a defeat is posupporters who are opposed to the FDI decision, unambiguously said the purpose was to ssible in voting as all the parties that collechave a full-fledged debate, followed by voting tively account for 325 MPs (the majority mark is 273) have not committed to vote for the or not. Ally DMK, too, adopted this line. government on FDI. They have only agreed The government has been saying that a policy decision by the executive should not not to insist on a debate that entails voting. But an adjournment motion will give the be put to vote in the House. government some space for manoeuvre. Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit Since the Samajwadi Party is piloting it, said: If most parties have not insisted on Rule 184 and have left it to the Speakers deci- the government may try to persuade the outside ally to word the motion carefully withsion, the democratic principle of majority out explicitly calling for a reversal of the FDI should be respected by all. The purpose policy . A debate under Rule 184 on a motion should not be to score political points but to respect rules and have a debate. scripted by the BJP is bound to be harsher. Parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath, too, said after the meeting: We appeal CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Trinamul among flexible parties

SANJAY K. JHA

RULE DIVIDE

Metro station names

Metro Railway stations named after personalities will also have the names of the respective localities prominently displayed, junior railway minister Adhir Chowdhury has said. METRO

Aamir guest killed

A man who had spoken against khap panchayats at Aamir Khans TV show Satyamev Jayate has been shot. NATION P3

Dono teams ko support dene ke liye shukriya! Main chahta hoon kolkata aur nagpur mein... bhi aisa hi ho!
KEVIN PIETERSEN on Twitter

! FOREIGN 2 ! OPINION 10 ! TV & MOVIES 12