Nestle India Challenges FSSAI Ruling on Dairy Whitener Safety

Nestle India is challenging a regulatory finding from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that labeled a sample of its low-fat dairy whitener as unsafe and substandard. The dispute centers on the methodology used to measure phosphorus levels in the product, as the company argues the testing did not account for natural components.

"Nestle India is working with authorities and has provided data on the product and similar milk-based products to demonstrate the presence of naturally occurring phosphorus," said a company spokesperson in a statement regarding the dispute.

The Technical Disagreement

The regulatory action followed a laboratory analysis of a sample collected from the Lalit hotel in New Delhi. According to an investing.com report, the FSSAI flagged the product for containing phosphorus levels that exceeded established safety limits.

Nestle India contends that the regulator's testing process failed to distinguish between added phosphorus, which is strictly regulated as a food additive, and phosphorus that is inherent to dairy ingredients. Milk-based products contain phosphorus, and the company asserts that the FSSAI report incorrectly compared the total phosphorus content against the threshold intended for supplemental additives.

Regulatory Standards and Food Safety

Food safety regulations in India establish maximum permissible limits for additives to ensure consumer health. When a regulator classifies a product as unsafe or substandard, it triggers mandatory recalls or production halts for the specific batch in question.

By providing comparative data on its other milk-based products, Nestle India aims to establish that the detected levels are consistent with the chemical profile of the dairy ingredients used in its manufacturing process. The company is engaged with the FSSAI to provide technical documentation to resolve the classification discrepancy.