The Delhi High Court has stayed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's prohibitory order against Dabur India Ltd. regarding misleading '100%' claims on food products. As reported by Business Standard, Justice Amit Mahajan observed that Dabur was selling the products for decades and has made out a prima facie case for relief at this stage as the FSSAI order was passed without giving it any hearing. The court issued notices to the Union government, FSSAI, and other respondents and stayed the prohibitory order issued with show-cause notice to Dabur. The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for August 24, 2026, marking a significant development in the regulatory dispute. This represents a major victory for Dabur India as the court has temporarily halted the enforcement of FSSAI's directive while the legal challenge proceeds.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has directed Dabur India Ltd. to immediately stop selling a range of food products carrying what it described as misleading '100%' claims. As reported by Mint, the prohibition order covers honey, cow ghee, apple cider vinegar, virgin coconut oil, sesame oil, coconut water and coconut milk. The regulator has flagged claims such as '100% Natural', '100% Pure', '100% Purity Guaranteed', '100% Organic' and '100% Tender Coconut Water' as ambiguous, unverifiable and likely to mislead consumers. In its latest order, FSSAI found that Dabur Himalayan Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and Dabur Organic Honey were displaying the Jaivik Bharat logo without a valid FSSAI organic endorsement, in violation of the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017. The regulator also noted that Dabur Homemade Coconut Milk was marketed with the claim '100% Purity', which is not permissible for compound foods under the regulations. The FSSAI specifically noted that despite an earlier notice directing the discontinuation of misleading 100% claims, the business operator took no satisfactory corrective action. In its latest response, Dabur India stated that the notice relates only to the interpretation of the product description and does not allege or question the quality, safety, purity or standards of the products manufactured and marketed by the company.
Dabur India shares rebounded from the day's low on Friday, August 7, to trade flat with a positive bias at ₹411.75 apiece, up 0.11%, as reported by Business Standard. The stock touched the day's high of ₹413 in early morning deals before settling at ₹411.55 as of 3:04 PM, up 0.06%. The shares had been under pressure since the FSSAI order was passed on August 3, 2026, with the stock trading at ₹409 apiece on the National Stock Exchange, down 0.5% from the previous close and closer to the 52-week low. As reported by Mint, shares of Dabur have been on a decline since the order was passed on 3 August. Gaurang Shah of Geojit Financial Services said that Dabur has been in the market for a long time, has a good amount of goodwill for its products and an unmatched product portfolio. He noted that the court order should put things to rest unless and until the FSSAI regulator has something more to say or has any evidence against the '100%' claim, adding that the regulator's directive is now unlikely to have any negative impact for Dabur. The company's food segment generated revenue of ₹1,974.31 crore in FY26, down 4.4% from the year ago, while Dabur generated net sales of ₹13,042 crore in FY26.
Justice Amit Mahajan declined a request to not grant interim relief at this stage, stating "They have been selling it for decades. Now suddenly you can't." The court's decision was based on the principle that the prohibitory order ought not to have been passed without giving an opportunity of hearing. According to NDTV Profit, the bench of Justice Amit Mahajan said, prima facie, the food regulator should not have passed the prohibitory order without first giving Dabur an opportunity to be heard. The court observed that "Considering the arguments made, this court is of the prima facie opinion that the order of such nature ought not to have been passed without hearing them first." As reported by Business Standard, after hearing both sides, the court found that Dabur had established a prima facie case warranting interim relief and stayed the operation of the FSSAI order. In its petition, Dabur argued that the regulator had acted without first issuing a show-cause or improvement notice or giving the company an opportunity to explain its position, referring to the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018. The company also challenged the order as non-speaking, arguing that it failed to explain why the '100%' descriptions were allegedly misleading. According to Business Standard, representing FSSAI, Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) Ashish Dixit defended the regulator's action, stating that an improvement notice had been issued to the company and pointed out that in an earlier dispute concerning Dabur's use of '100%' claims for fruit juice, the High Court had declined to grant interim protection.
In response to the FSSAI crackdown, Dabur India Limited has indicated it is exploring options regarding the FSSAI prohibitory order and has already begun transitioning to new labels that do not carry the '100%' claim. As reported by NDTV Profit, the company stated that most of the labels mentioned in the order have already been revised, while the remaining ones are currently in the process of transition. The company has now engaged with the food regulator after receiving the prohibitory order on Monday and will continue to engage constructively with them to resolve the matter. Dabur India maintains that its labels comply with the prevailing legal and regulatory framework and are consistent with long-standing industry practices. Addressing shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Thursday, Dabur Global CEO Mohit Malhotra said the notice relates to the industry's use of such expressions and does not question the quality or safety of Dabur's products. He stated that "We are collaborating with FSSAI to resolve this matter, and also seeking legal advice on the future course of action". The company believes that the declaration on product labels comply with the prevailing legal and regulatory framework and are consistent with long-standing industry practices, and has never made any misleading claims. The company also clarified that the impact of this will impact the company's business operations, financial position or performance is limited to the objected food products only. Appearing for Dabur, senior advocate Sandeep Sethi argued that the company had marketed products bearing such descriptions for several decades and contended that the authority lacked the power to impose a blanket prohibition in the manner adopted. He further submitted that the order had been issued without a show-cause notice or an opportunity to be heard, in breach of the principles of natural justice. The company also warned that compliance with the order would force it to withdraw, destroy or repackage products valued at more than ₹150 crore, making the measure arbitrary and disproportionate.
The regulatory action against Dabur is part of a broader effort by FSSAI to tighten food labeling practices across the industry. As reported by NDTV Profit, in June, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) imposed ₹1 lakh penalties each on Storia Foods and Mrs Bectors for misleading '100%' claims and directed them to remove the claims from packaging, websites and digital platforms. The regulator had already advised food businesses in May 2025 to avoid using '100%' on food labels, packaging and promotional material, stating that the expression is not defined under India's existing food regulations and can create a false impression of absolute purity or superiority. Under the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, claims are required to be truthful, unambiguous, meaningful and not misleading. FSSAI has argued that the word '100%', particularly when paired with terms such as 'pure' or 'natural', can make consumers believe that competing products are inferior or fail to meet similar standards. The regulator has stepped up enforcement against misleading advertising and labelling by food business operators, using social media to publicise action against manufacturers and e-commerce platforms. The FSSAI's actions came after on 3 August, FSSAI directed Dabur to immediately prohibit the sale of the food products identified in the notice and all other food products carrying the misleading claims, and to submit an action-taken report (ATR) within 15 days. According to Business Standard, Datanomics data reveals that the number of FSSAI non-compliance cases peaked across companies in financial year 2022-23 (FY23) before fluctuating in the next couple of years. Substandard samples have been the largest category, accounting for over half of violations.
