FSSAI issues notice on date sugar claims to The Whole Truth on rival’s complaint
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s food regulator has issued a show-cause notice to Fitshit Health Solutions-owned The Whole Truth over labelling that its chocolate products contained “no added sugar,” a move that could have a broader impact on how companies make and consumers perceive such claims.The notice issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) followed a complaint filed by rival chocolate maker Paul & Mike that The Whole Truth was using dates as sweeteners while claiming that no sugar was added to its cocoa products.Under FSSAI’s “non-addition of sugars” rules, such claims are not permitted if ingredients containing sugars are used as substitutes for added sugars. Following a Right to Information petition filed by the complainant in December, the Maharashtra FSSAI issued the notice to The Whole Truth.This tighter regulatory scrutiny could set a precedent how food companies make “no added sugar” claims while using dates, date paste and similar ingredients as sweeteners.
India’s chocolate market is projected to grow over 55% to $3.93 billion by 2031 from $2.53 billion in 2025, data from Mordor Intelligence showed.Documents reviewed by Mint show the dispute dates back to August 2023, when the National Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS), acting under the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), initiated a suo motu review over potential advertising violations by The Whole Truth. Complaints filed by Paul & Mike before FSSAI in October 2024 and September 2025 alleged that the Fitshit brand continued selling chocolates sweetened with date powder using “no added sugar” claims despite regulatory observations.While certain online listings were later updated from “no added sugar” to
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