Acting on a tip-off, officials of the Gujarat FDCA (Food and Drug Control Administration) raided the manufacturing plant and storage facilities of Vadilal ice creams at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on Saturday. This was informed by Dr H G Koshia, commissioner, FDCA, Gujarat.
“Our team had found that some of the flavours of Vadilal ice creams were sold as frozen dessert, which was printed in small letters on the products,” Koshia explained.
Not only the aforementioned brand, Koshia added that many of the top brands by mentioning frozen dessert in small print but selling the product as ice cream, were taking the consumers for a ride. According to him, edible vegetable oil, the ingredient mentioned on frozen dessert, was not permitted in ice creams and ice creams were expected to be products made of milk fat. Thus the consumers were getting cheated in the process.
He added, “Using edible vegetable oil is against the law and hence the products of Vadilal have already been sent to the laboratory for testing. We are waiting for the results.” When contacted, representatives of Vadilal refused to comment on the issue.
It may be noted that under the new Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR) 2011, use of edible vegetable oil entailed the product to be termed as frozen dessert, while only those products which contained milk fat could be called ice cream. But most of the times, for the buyer, there is no clarity on the difference between the two and their ingredients. Hence, erring manufacturers are likely to face legal action.
In this regard, it was found that not only Vadilal but other top brands like Kwality Wall's and Pastonji were resorting to such practices. HUL’s Wall’s is one of the most popular brands, in spite of calling itself frozen dessert.
Interestingly, Pastonji was selling its products as medium fat frozen dessert, but surprisingly, mentioning the ingredients same as Amul, the brand which has been selling its products as ice cream. Both Pastonji and Amul have the ingredients mentioned as milk, milk products, water, sugar, liquid, glucose, nuts and emulsifying and stabilising agents and permitted colours.
Koshia felt that apart from fair business practices expected from manufacturers, the consumer also needed to be educated. In this regard, Gujarat has launched a Mobile Exhibition Van recently. The van helps in creating awareness in the remotest corners of the state. The Gujarat FDCA has also launched primary testing kit that helps in identifying adulteration of food.
“Our team had found that some of the flavours of Vadilal ice creams were sold as frozen dessert, which was printed in small letters on the products,” Koshia explained.
Not only the aforementioned brand, Koshia added that many of the top brands by mentioning frozen dessert in small print but selling the product as ice cream, were taking the consumers for a ride. According to him, edible vegetable oil, the ingredient mentioned on frozen dessert, was not permitted in ice creams and ice creams were expected to be products made of milk fat. Thus the consumers were getting cheated in the process.
He added, “Using edible vegetable oil is against the law and hence the products of Vadilal have already been sent to the laboratory for testing. We are waiting for the results.” When contacted, representatives of Vadilal refused to comment on the issue.
It may be noted that under the new Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR) 2011, use of edible vegetable oil entailed the product to be termed as frozen dessert, while only those products which contained milk fat could be called ice cream. But most of the times, for the buyer, there is no clarity on the difference between the two and their ingredients. Hence, erring manufacturers are likely to face legal action.
In this regard, it was found that not only Vadilal but other top brands like Kwality Wall's and Pastonji were resorting to such practices. HUL’s Wall’s is one of the most popular brands, in spite of calling itself frozen dessert.
Interestingly, Pastonji was selling its products as medium fat frozen dessert, but surprisingly, mentioning the ingredients same as Amul, the brand which has been selling its products as ice cream. Both Pastonji and Amul have the ingredients mentioned as milk, milk products, water, sugar, liquid, glucose, nuts and emulsifying and stabilising agents and permitted colours.
Koshia felt that apart from fair business practices expected from manufacturers, the consumer also needed to be educated. In this regard, Gujarat has launched a Mobile Exhibition Van recently. The van helps in creating awareness in the remotest corners of the state. The Gujarat FDCA has also launched primary testing kit that helps in identifying adulteration of food.
