Food Claims in India: What You Can Say on Packs, Websites and Ads

What counts as a food claim?

The Advertising and Claims Regulations address consumer messages beyond the package. Claims can concern composition, nutritional properties, origin, processing or health; advertisements and marketing communications have a broad scope. Read the original regulations alongside amendments.

Begin with an inventory of what a customer would see or hear. Include words, pictures, comparisons, captions and spoken scripts. A small line beneath a large headline may affect the overall message, but it cannot be assumed to repair it.

Review the product title and brand presentation too. The useful question is what the entire communication tells a consumer about this food. Treat the answer as a hypothesis to assess against the product's facts, rather than focusing on one carefully chosen word.

Separate nutrition, non-addition and health claims

The categories are useful because each asks a different evidentiary question. A nutrient test, a recipe record and a scientific dossier perform different jobs. Decide what the claim asserts before choosing the evidence that might support it.

Give each proposed statement a unique entry in a claims register. Record the exact words, SKU, channel, intended audience and reviewer. Avoid approving a vague concept such as “health messaging” when the actual advertisement has not been written.

Common nutrition-claim criteria to verify

The current claims compendium provides the following selected conditions. They are screening references; assess the complete rule and product context before using a claim. Schedule I and general conditions.

Protein needs an RDA-based assessment under the Indian conditions. Do not substitute a foreign percentage-of-energy criterion. Read the protein row in full.

Include a reasonable review margin in the development discussion. If the product is close to a claim boundary, ask the technical team how changes in formulation, ingredients and production could affect the result. The claim-review decision should reflect the evidence for the product that will actually be sold.

No added sugar is a formulation question

The non-addition conditions look beyond table sugar: sugars can come from components and ingredients used to replace added sugar. Naturally present sugars require the applicable accompanying statement when the claim is used. Review regulation 6.

Make a component-level ingredient map. For each supplier ingredient, identify what it contains and why it is used. Ask whether a sweetened component, syrup, fruit preparation or processing step changes the claim assessment. Resolve uncertain supplier descriptions before making a blanket statement.

Keep the assessment with the approved recipe version. If procurement later changes the ingredient, ask whether the approved non-addition wording remains supported. Supplier changes should reach the label and marketing reviewers before the product goes back into production.

Health claims need evidence matched to the actual assertion

The regulations distinguish health claims from nutrient-content statements and prohibit medicinal claims except where specifically permitted. Product-health claims have particular evidence requirements; a general paper about an ingredient is not automatically a basis for the finished product's claim. Review health and prohibited-claim provisions.

Write the proposed benefit in a complete sentence. Identify the product or constituent said to produce the benefit, the intended audience and the consumption conditions. Then ask the scientific reviewer whether the evidence addresses that proposition.

A study can be relevant yet leave important gaps. The studied ingredient may have a different specification; the dose may differ; the study population may not match the audience; or the outcome may be narrower than the headline. Document those differences rather than hiding them behind a long bibliography.

For a review dossier, create an evidence table with the study, tested material, use level, population, outcome and limitations. Keep the original paper or source reference. A marketing summary of the research should be checked against what the study actually reports.

When a claim or category requires a particular regulatory route, establish that route before running a campaign. myfoodlicense.com offers complete claims review and substantiation-dossier preparation.

Natural, fresh, pure and absolute claims

The terms “natural,” “fresh” and “pure” have conditional treatment in the claims rules. Check the actual product and processing. A favourable consumer association with a word is not sufficient grounds to use it. Read the conditional terminology provisions.

Describe the process accurately in the technical brief. Include processing stages, preservation and the role of additives. This gives the reviewer useful facts instead of a marketing explanation such as “made with good ingredients.”

FSSAI's advisory dated 28 May 2025 asks businesses to discontinue “100%” on labels and promotional content because it can misleadingly imply absolute purity or superiority. The advisory is a distinct source of current regulatory guidance. Read the official advisory.

Review every place that uses the affected expression. Product images may be stored in a website media library, seller portal and advertising account. Assign an owner to replace each asset and keep the revised versions in one controlled folder.

Comparisons need a defensible reference

Before approving a comparative message, define the reference product and the comparison basis. Keep the original measurements or specifications and the calculation used. A statement chosen first and supported afterwards is more likely to hide an assumption the team has not examined.

Use like-for-like units and understand whether the compared foods and versions fit the applicable rules. Have a reviewer check the chosen wording and reference in the current amended text. Avoid relying on a comparator that no longer exists or on an unexplained industry average.

Build a claims file before approving artwork

Use one record per claim. Keep the exact wording, approved product version, evidence sources, assessment, conditions of use and review date. Add any requirement to revisit the decision when evidence or the product changes.

• Identify who owns the recipe and product specifications.
• Record the claim type and the applicable source provision.
• Retain relevant reports and any checked calculations.
• Document what the claim assessment assumes and excludes.
• Store the approved wording with the final artwork and digital copy.
• Set a trigger for reassessment after formulation, supplier or audience changes.

Download the claim-review worksheet

Keep websites, listings and campaigns consistent

Make an asset register for the pack, website, marketplaces, advertisements and promotional scripts. Assign the approved wording to each asset. Before launch, check whether anyone has shortened the phrase in a way that changes its meaning.

A claim can drift when a sales team turns a qualified statement into a short headline or a creator improvises a stronger benefit. Give everyone the approved wording and the evidence-based boundaries. Review revised scripts and customer-facing assets before they are used.

Connect this process with the label review and product classification. A claim assessment is strongest when the reviewer knows exactly which food, category and consumer communication are being considered.

Explore the detailed guides

Use these focused articles to work through the decisions relevant to your business.

• Can You Call Your Food "Natural", "Fresh", "Pure" or "Original"?
• "High Protein", "Low Fat", "Sugar Free": Criteria for Nutrition Claims
• Nutrition Claims vs Health Claims: The Difference and Why It Matters
• "No Added Sugar" vs "Sugar Free" vs "Zero Sugar"
• "Immunity Booster" and Other Risky Claims Brands Still Make
• Influencer Marketing for Food Brands: The Rules on Claims
• Comparative Claims ("30% Less Sugar"): How to Make Them Safely
• Misleading Food Ads: Penalties and Real Examples
• Do You Need Evidence for Your Claim? Building a Substantiation File