'Hidden Sugar' In Health Products Is A Much Larger Problem And Not Limited To One Brand
Bournvita has been one of the most popular products in its category. Influencer Revant Himatsingka called out the product for misleading customers and being a potential health risk.
Bournvita, the health drink brand of Cadbury's parent company Mondelez, which has been one of the most popular products in its category, has been battling an unusual image crisis after influencer Revant Himatsingka called it out for misleading customers and being a potential health risk.
While Himatsingka has since deleted the video after being served a legal notice by Mondelez, the debate it ignited still rages on.
Cadbury
Influencer's video gets online support
Many, including nutritionists and doctors, have also joined the debate and pointed out that the problem is not limited to one brand and 'hidden sugar' is a much larger issue that needs to be addressed by the authorities - in this case, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FASAI).
Dr Abby Philips, a Kerala-based Hepatologist who has been active on Twitter, bunking misleading medical claims, was one of the leading voices to come out in support of Himatsingka.
In his video, Himatsingka pointed out that Bournvita's ingredient label has 50 grams of sugar per 100 grams.
Revant Himatsingka whose account @foodpharmer is suspended has been legally & digitally silenced by @BournvitaIndia JUST FOR TELLING INGREDIENTS OF BOURNVITA which is 50% "Sugar"
¡ª Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj (@DeepikaBhardwaj) April 17, 2023
Let's trend #BoycottBournvita #BoycottCadbury to tell these companies they can't bully pic.twitter.com/S5kWIrNqyB
He also said that the list of ingredients is misleading and some of them are just 'other words' for sugar.
Himatsingka further claimed that another ingredient, 'Colour (150C)', can cause cancer and reduce immunity.
PEXELS
Taking a take a potshot at Bournvita's tagline, ¡®taiyari jeet ki¡¯ Himatsingka suggested that it should instead be ¡®taiyari diabetes ki¡¯.
What Cadbury's had to say
Responding to the social media uproar, Bournvita, in a statement, said that the claims of health benefits were based on scientific studies and called the video unscientific and based on distorted facts.
"Every serving of 20 gm of Bournvita has 7.5 grams of added sugar, which is approximately one and a half teaspoons. This is much less than the daily recommended intake limits of sugar for children," said Mondelez India in a statement.
On the issue of Caramel Colour (150 C), Bournvita said it "is within permissible limits as per guidelines defined by regulations".
However, others then pointed out that Bournvita's own label said the total added sugar is 73.1 g per 100 g, which is much higher than the recommended daily limit for children.
All this for telling the truth about #Cadbury #bournvita.
¡ª RJ - Rishabh Jain (@rishsamjain) April 15, 2023
In 100g of Bournvita, 73g is sugar.
NHS recommends, Children aged 7-10 should have no more than 24g of sugar a day & Children aged 4 to 6 should have no more than 19g of a day. pic.twitter.com/S3i7COWqY4
Hidden sugar, salt & fat, but especially sugar is killing us! The rates of rise of #diabetesmellitus in low income families is terrifying. We need to change our #diets, #foodsystems to deliver for people¡¯s health. Behaviour change also key, along with policy levers https://t.co/LMUYeuw3FJ
¡ª Soumya Swaminathan (@doctorsoumya) April 16, 2023
Still misleading: scientist
Dr Philips pointed out that Bournvita products are not backed by good evidence. "Cadbury's claims are misleading on muscle and bone growth, immunity enhancement and brain development - there are no controlled studies to show the same," he claimed.
"Cadburys has made a statement that they have designed the product on scientific basis, which means there has to be published studies backing their claims," he said on Twitter.
Instagram influencer, The FoodPharmer deleted his video, calling out the misleading information on Cadbury's Bounrvita product. Essentially, the product claimed improved brain activity, improved muscles, improved immune system and improved bone health.
¡ª TheLiverDoc (@theliverdr) April 17, 2023
All of these require¡ pic.twitter.com/PkyDRxLlg4
In another Tweet, Dr Philips also compared the sugar content in other popular health drink brands.
If you know sugar is the new alcohol, and protein is the building block of muscle and immunity, then you'll know how you have been taken for a ride, at least now:
¡ª TheLiverDoc (@theliverdr) April 15, 2023
Bournvita
100g contain 37g of sugar (sucrose)
100g contain 7g of protein
Boost
100g contain 35g sugar of which¡
How products are tested
But according to Ashwin Bhadri, the founder and CEO of Equinox Labs, Cadbury's claims are most likely based on the standards set by BIS.
"Every product that comes into the market has to undergo a test by a NABL or FSSAI accredited lab. Normally big brands get their products tested by internal labs and by 2-3 external labs so that they are sure about the results. All the standards for this come from the Bureau of Indian Standards," Bhadri told Indiatimes.
Ashwin Bhadri
In the video, Himatsingka had pointed out that the current Bournvita packaging has 'immune system' prominently mentioned, which was not there before COVID-19, and that the ingredients hadn't changed during the same period.
On this, Bournvita, in a release, said: "Bournvita contains nutrients namely Vitamin A, C, D, Iron, Zinc, Copper and Selenium which help build immunity. These have been part of our formulation for several years. We have always called out 'Helps with the healthy functioning of the immune system' on the back of our pack for several years (even before the Covid-19 pandemic).
¡ª BournvitaIndia (@BournvitaIndia) April 9, 2023
Nobody cared about immunity before COVID
Bhadri agreed with this and said that it could have been added now because people now care more about immunity boosters.
"When companies make any such claim, we always ask them to validate it. FSSAI has set guidelines for this. I think that they probably had some ingredients that boosted immunity pre-pandemic, which wasn't highlighted as it wasn't needed. Now they are just doing it. I think the question here should be what ingredient boosted the immunity," he said.
FSSAI should clear the air
Given the magnitude of the ongoing controversy, Bhadri was of the opinion that it is time for the FSSAI to step in.
"I think the simplest way to solve the controversy is to test it from three labs -one government and two private and see the results. Because the company has a lot at stake and the FSSAI can even blacklist and shut it down if it is seen to be indulging in something wrong. The FSSAI has the power to crack down, just like what happened with Maggi a few years ago," he said.
PEXELS
FSSAI keeping a close eye
And that seems to be happening as last week FSSAI said it continues to act against food business operators reported to be involved in making false or misleading claims to protect consumer interests, without naming Bournvita.
"FSSAI is actively discharging its statutory role for the sake of consumers by acting against the FBOs reported to be involved in making any false/misleading claims on food products to protect the interests of the consumers while ensuring fair trade practices and orderly growth of food industry in the country," it said.
In order to regulate the advertisement and claims on food products by FBOs, FSSAI has notified a regulation -- Food Safety and Standards (Advertisements & Claims) Regulations 2018, under which the deceptive claims or advertisements are prohibited and are punishable offences.
PEXELS
"Every claim, including the permitted nutrient-based claims under the said regulations, are required to meet the criteria stipulated in the said regulations and no false or exaggerated health claim is permitted."
"Further, any nutrient function claims and other functional claims made on the food products are required to be based on the current and relevant scientific evidence," the statement said.
The regulator further said it has set up a dedicated advertisement monitoring committee that periodically scrutinises advertisements and claims made by FBOs on various channels, including social media and e-commerce platforms.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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