The food regulator has issued show-cause notices to three companies over alleged misleading claims and labelling violations, giving each seven days to respond.
On 8 July 2026, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India issued notices to Lotte India Corporation Private Limited, Kubera Foods and Ferns N Petals Private Limited over alleged misleading claims and labelling violations.
The regulator announced the action on X and directed the companies to explain within seven days why proceedings should not be initiated under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
What the Regulator Alleged
In the case of Kubera Foods, FSSAI said a product marketed as Soft and Fresh Cream Bun Pineapple carried front-of-pack claims of being 100 percent natural and free of preservatives, colours and flavours.
The regulator said the same label declared the presence of a preservative, a synthetic food colour and added flavouring substances. It said the terms pure, fresh and natural breached the provisions governing such claims.
Regarding Lotte India, FSSAI said the company had used non-compliant pre-printed labels bearing its former company name without prior approval, and flagged a 100 percent vegetarian claim on certain Choco Pie variants as misleading.
It also said two Pepero biscuit stick products did not carry nutritional information in the prescribed format, that Lolly Bliss lollipops were non-compliant, and that Fruitz Eclairs carried a name capable of creating a misleading impression because the product contains no fruit, with the mandatory disclaimer missing from the front of the pack.
Where Matters Stand
These are allegations made by the regulator in a show-cause notice, not findings by a court or a competent legal authority. The companies were given seven days to respond.
The Wise Indian could not independently verify any response from the three companies at the time of writing.
What Shoppers Can Check Themselves
The ingredient list and the nutritional panel carry the legally mandated information; the front of a pack carries marketing. Where the two conflict, the panel on the back is the one governed by regulation.
Additives appear in ingredient lists as INS numbers, so a claim of no added colour alongside an INS code in the 100 series is a contradiction worth noticing.
The Wise Take
Front-of-pack marketing is designed to be read in two seconds and ingredient panels are printed to be read by almost nobody, which is the gap regulatory action exists to close. Show-cause notices are an early step and may end in withdrawal, correction or nothing at all, so treating them as verdicts would be wrong. What they do offer readers immediately is a checklist. The words pure, fresh and natural carry legal definitions in India, and a label that uses them while declaring a synthetic additive is telling you something without meaning to
