No govt action against FMCG cos yet on advts
On April 23, apex court, while instructing Patanjali Ayurved to place on record its apology over misleading ads, said it’s expanding scope of the issue by including other FMCG cos
image for illustrative purpose
Despite repeated attempts to find out about any investigation into the matter, multiple officials, including one in the office of Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal, did not respond to the queries made by Bizz Buzz
New Delhi: Even weeks after the Supreme Court directed Union Ministries to act against fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies making misleading advertisements, it seems that the government is in no hurry to rein in yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali and other FMCG companies.
Despite repeated attempts to find out about any investigation into the matter, multiple officials, including one in the office of Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal, did not respond to the queries made by Bizz Buzz.
On April 23, the apex court, while instructing Patanjali Ayurved to place on record its apology published in newspapers over misleading ads, said that it was expanding the scope of the issue by including other FMCG companies. A Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah wanted to know from the central government as to the action taken against FMCG companies for ‘misrepresenting advertisements’ on goods like ‘foods for babies, children and elderly.’
Convinced that the issue was about more than just one company, Justice Kohli said: “We are not looking at the respondent alone as one standalone case, there are others on the other side who may not be before us, but after going through the kind of coverage that recently has been brought to our notice of the misrepresenting advertisements for things like foods for babies, children, which we now understand is under scrutiny by the Union, the Union will have to tell us something about it. We can’t let the public be taken for a ride. These are children, babies…”
She went on to say that the Centre and State licensing authorities must activate themselves. “You can’t just shrug your shoulders and say I conveyed the complaint to State authority and it is for them to do what they are doing,” she told Additional Solicitor General KM Natarah, who appeared for the Centre.
“Let us know against other FMCGs, what complaints you have received and what you have acted upon,” added Justice Amanullah.
