As misleading ads come under govt scrutiny, Complan gets the first jolt...

As misleading ads come under govt scrutiny, Complan gets the first jolt

Maharashtra FDA has finally put the ignition key. The first case of misleading advertisement has been lodged by the Association in its 40-year career, on a lead given by a government appointed body Acash ( Association for Consumers Action on Safety & Health).


"FDA has booked Complan for a misleading advertisement claim contravening the advertisement law under section 37 & 39 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act ( 1956), "says FDA Maharashtra joint commissioner C B Pawar. The case is pending in the Mazgaon court in Mumbai.


Acash is an independent non-profit organisation formed to deal with health - related consumer issues. It was founded by a group of doctors, lawyers and other concerned individuals in 1986. Acash is also known for the cases lodged by it against names like Nestle, Johnson& Johnson and Wockhardt for similar violations.


With this a signal is sent down to other F & B companies to take make the precautionary corrections before FDA tightens its noose on them.


Heinz, the maker of Complan, has been advertising its product claiming that regular consumption of Complan in milk increases the height of a kid by 3 inches. 


The company claims that the claim was based on a study conducted on 900 children from different backgrounds in the age group of 7-12, that proved that children who drank Complan along with a regular diet grew faster compared to those who had only a regular diet.


Says R K Anand, founder president, Acash, and the man behind the movement, "Some parents drew my attention to an ad in which a mother is upset that her son is often teased about being short. The child is called a "half ticket" by his friends in the ad. Then the child starts having Complan and he starts to become taller." 


The advertisement does not only imply discrimination against students who are short in height but also brings the nutritional claim under scrutiny.


Dr Anand who is also a well-known pediatrician in India and has played a leading role in formulating the Infant Milk Substitute Act (that stopped using pictures of babies on baby food tins to lure mothers into buying these products), pointed the loopholes in the study.


In the study, Complan used three control groups - one put on usual diet, another on usual diet plus Complan and the third group on usual diet plus Complan and milk. Complan claimed that the third group grew the best. Interestingly, the study did not include a group that was given the usual diet plus milk. 
The other question was whether do kids, especially those from poor backgrounds, needed the usual diet plus milk or the usual diet plus Complan?"


Besides, according to Dr Anand, growth and how tall a child would be depended more on genetic factors, weight at birth, lack of breastfeeding, and so on, rather than on the intake of health drinks.
The easiest way to besiege an audience's mind is by the use of deceptive advertisement strategy. The advertiser, hyper anxious to sell his products, has been using this strategy for long. And the most vulnerable victims of his persuasive strategy have been kids for whom the defining line between the real and the make-believe world is difficult to comprehend.


The flouter has not been Complan alone. There are many national and global cases where the audiences have been digressed in buying products owing to misleading claims.


Recently the U S Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stopped Nestle ( SA) from making tall claims about Boost Kid Essentials saying that the product reduced the risk of colds, flu, and other upper respiratory tract infections unless the claim was approved by the Food and Drug Administration.


Also, the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India constituted an expert group to examine the claims made in respect of a proprietary food 'Amaze brain food' marketed by Hindustan Unilever Limited. The company claimed that it gave 33% of the key brain nutrients that children needed daily.


The expert group in its report concluded that the claims made by the company relating to brain development of children were not supported by adequate scientific evidence and were misleading.


A few years ago concerns were raised over GlaxoSmithKline product Horlicks for its claim that drinking Horlicks made kids taller, smarter and sharper.


The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)) has recently revived advertisement codes for the food & beverage segment.


The new ASCI code for food & beverage segment will prohibit ads portraying changes in individuals in intelligence, physical/mental ability, unless scientifically proved. Further, health and nutritional benefit claims in advertisements need scientific proof.


Also, the special purpose foods with misleading claims will soon be coming under the FSSAI scanner. 


There are regulations in the country which have been implemented in bits and pieces but till then will the companies take an initiative to self-monitor their advertising strategy is uncertain. 


However, some hope comes from the recent development whereby eight major food and beverage processors signed a unique pledge committing themselves to responsible advertising and marketing to children. More such move would surely be welcome.