Patanjali Amla Juice Taken Off Defence Canteen Shelves After It Fails A Lab Test

Amla juice, one of the first products launched by Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved's FMCG division has run into troubled waters.

The Canteen Stores Department, the retailing entity selling consumer goods to armed forces, has suspended sale of a batch of Patanjali's amla juice after it "failed" to clear a laboratory test carried out at West Bengal Public Health Laboratory, Kolkata.

The CSD, in a letter dated April 3, 2017, asked all depots to make debit notes for their existing stock so that the product can be returned.?

Patanjali, however, defended its product and said the Amla juice is safe to consume.

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The company said its amla juice is a medicinal product and not food, and thereby the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's regulations were not applicable for the juice.

Ghee and amla juice were the driving force behind Patanjali's runaway success in the FMCG sector, with the company registering an impressive revenue of Rs 5,000 crore in March 2016.

However, the company has never been free from controversy. In the past too a number of Patanjali brand products including mustard oil, salt, pineapple jam, besan and honey had failed quality tests.

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The company was also pulled up by the advertising watchdog Advertising Standards Council of India for misleading ads.

In December 2016 a Haridwar court had imposed fine of Rs 11 lakh on the company for misbranding and misrepresentation of its products.