Britannia launches Masala Chaas containing jeera, curry leaves, ginger

Saturday, December 22, 2012 08:00 IST 
Our Bureau, Mumbai

Britannia Industries Ltd., one of India’s most trusted food brands with a diverse portfolio of products in biscuits, bakery and dairy categories, has launched Masala Chaas – a milk-based beverage spiced with jeera, curry leaves and ginger. It will initially be available at all leading modern trade outlets across major Indian cities.

Packed in a 150ml bottle priced at Rs 15, it will have a shelf life of four months before opening and can be stored in an ambient environment. The launch marks Britannia's foray into F&B outlets, which account for a significant part of Indians' out of home consumption. 

Speaking at the launch, Ashok Namboodiri, head, dairy business, Britannia Industries Ltd, said, 
“Chaas has been an integral part of India’s cuisine, no meal is complete without a glass of buttermilk. Packaged chaas has emerged as a fast-growing category driven by convenience, consistent taste and new age lifestyle.” 

“There is a strong preference and shift seen towards usage of convenient, ready to use, foods as people do not want to invest time in preparing them. Britannia Masala Chaas offers the same experience without the hassle of preparing it. Secondly, there is also a trend emerging of substituting carbonated high calorie drinks with low calorie healthy drinks and Dairy Drinks, which Britannia is targeting,” he said. 

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Diet Pepsi switches to 2 sweeteners, schedules rebranding for next month

Wednesday, December 19, 2012 08:00 IST

Diet Pepsi is changing its sweetener as it embarks on a major rebranding scheduled for January.

According to AP, the change seems to be coming in as PepsiCo Inc. has been continuously losing market share to rival companies over the last few years.

As a result of the change, cans of Diet Pepsi in the US now list a mix of two artificial sweeteners, instead of just aspartame, which is sensitive to heat and breaks down easily.

Now, in addition to aspartame, cans of Diet Pepsi list acesulfame potassium as an ingredient. The ingredient is often used in combination with other artificial sweeteners and can be found in a wide range of foods including baked goods, chewing gum and gelatin desserts

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FSSAI files cases against 15 F&B companies for misleading advertisement

Tuesday, December 04, 2012 08:00 IST 
Our Bureau, Mumbai

In a bid to crack down on tall claims in the print and electronic media, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has filed cases against 15 food and beverage companies, which have been found violating Section 24 of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 – which pertains to misleading advertisements – and the Food Safety and Standards (Packing and Labelling) Regulations (FSSR), 2011

Nineteen top nutritional products marketed by 15 companies were found to have violated  the rules and regulations, with claims that they make school children stronger and boost the stamina of sportspersons. The country's apex food regulator has scrutinised the products and posted the names of the companies and products, along with the descriptions of their violations, on their website. 

The errant companies are Heinz India Pvt. Ltd (Mumbai); Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd (Haryana); Emami Biotech Ltd (Kolkata); Marico Ltd (Mumbai); Hari Vegetable Products Ltd (Rajasthan); Trophic Wellness Pvt. Ltd (Mumbai); Kellogg's India (Mumbai); Britannia Industries Ltd (Kolkata); Cadbury India Ltd (Mumbai); Today Tea Limited (Delhi); Abbott India Ltd (Mumbai); Dabur India Ltd (Delhi); Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd (Noida); Hindustan Unilever Limited (Mumbai); and Rajdhani Flour Mills Ltd (Delhi).

An advertisement for Complan, a milk supplement marketed by Heinz India, states that one can grow twice as tall as a non-Complan drinker after consuming it. The ad for Complan Memory says it contains memory chargers and brain chargers which help improve memory. The picture on the product's label depicts students with books. It misleads children into believing that if they consume this health drink they would become good in studies. 

A source from Heinz India Pvt. Ltd, on the condition of anonymity, said, “We are neither aware about the case filed against us by the food regulatory authority nor have we received any notice from FSSAI.”

Glaxo SmithKline – which markets Boost – claims that it provides, thrice as much stamina as other chocolate-flavoured milk supplements. The company has not submitted any specific study on this product to substantiate its claims. Neither has Horlicks, which claims that children become stronger, taller and sharper after drinking it. This is misleading and deceptive in nature.

Complaints have been filed against all the producers before the adjudicating officers for the violation of the FSS Act. All 15 companies have been issued notices by the food regulatory authority FSSAI to remove the misleading advertisements.

S N Mohanty, chief executive officer, FSSAI told FnB News, “After scrutinising all the 19 products of the 15 companies, we found that the advertisements placed by them in the newspaper, television and other media are misleading and deceptive in nature. The claims made by them are not proved by the signs on the products. We have filed cases against all the 19 products before the adjudicating officers of the areas where the companies are located. The maximum fine for the violation of these norms is Rs 10 lakh.”

Meanwhile, Today Tea claimed that its product, Today Premium Tea was 100 per cent natural and rich in antioxidants. The authority has filed a case against the company in Delhi. Sanjay Jain, vice-president, Today Tea Limited, said, “I am not aware about the notice of FSSAI. It is true that we have placed an advertisement in the local newspaper about the benefits of our product Today Premium Tea. I will go through the website of FSSAI and will find out about the violation.” 

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