Dabur told the Bombay High Court it will remove claims like “anti-bacterial” and “analgesic” from two toothpaste labels by June 2025. This comes after FDA objections over legality of such statements.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
MUMBAI: Dabur India Ltd has informed the Bombay High Court that it will stop using words like “anti-inflammatory,” “anti-bacterial,” and “analgesic” on the packaging of its two popular toothpaste products—Dabur Meswak Toothpaste and Dabur Herb’1 Anti-Bacterial Toothpaste Tulsi—starting from June 2025.
This decision was made after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Maharashtra raised objections about whether these claims are legally allowed.
The case was heard by a bench of Justice G S Kulkarni and Justice Advait M Sethna on March 26, and the court accepted Dabur’s promise to remove these terms.
The court then closed the case.
“The statement made on behalf of the petitioner that the petitioner product ‘Dabur Meswak Toothpaste’ and ‘Dabur Herb’1 Anti-Bacterial Toothpaste Tulsi’ will not bear the words ‘anti-inflammatory’ and ‘anti-bacterial’ and ‘analgesic’ respectively with effect from June 2025 stand accepted as an undertaking to the court,”
-Bench said.
This legal issue began with an order dated January 29, passed by the FDA Commissioner, which asked Dabur to change the labels of its toothpaste products. The FDA pointed out that the claims made on the labels were not correct as per law, even though it clearly said that the products are not harmful to health.
Before Dabur could sell the products with the old labels, they were told to change the packaging.
Dabur then moved to the Bombay High Court for relief.
During the court hearing, Senior Advocate Ravi Kadam, who appeared on behalf of Dabur, told the court that the company had voluntarily decided to stop using the disputed terms. He also mentioned that Dabur had already started working on the new labels and packaging.
Dabur assured the court that the updated labels will be available in the market by June 2025, after completing steps like design, printing, and distribution.
The High Court accepted Dabur’s commitment and said that Dabur can sell the products with the current labels only till May 31, 2025. From June 1, 2025, the products must not carry the disputed words.
Senior Advocate Ravi Kadam, along with Advocates Vaibhav Bhure, Sneha Nanandkar, Pallavi Thakur, and Mukul Bhagtani, all instructed by ANM Global, appeared for Dabur.
Additional Government Pleader PJ Gavhane represented the State of Maharashtra in the matter.
CASE TITLE:
Dabur India Ltd.v State of Maharashtra.
Would You Like Assistance In Drafting A Legal Notice Or Complaint?
CLICK HERE
Click Here to Read Our Reports on Justice Yashwant Varma
FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES
