Internet backs health influencer after Cadbury Bournvita serves him legal notice

Hyderabad: Many people have backed health influencer Revant Himatsingka after his video criticizing Cadbury Bournvita for its high sugar content went viral.

His video created panic among people who were worried about their children’s health.

Surprisingly, the Influencer deleted the post from all his social media platforms two days ago after Cadbury served him a legal notice. Many people on social media went supporting him.

Speaking to News Meter, Dr. Arun Gupta, Child Health and Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest-India (NAPi) said, “We condemn the incident. The Influencer was educating people on the risks of consumption of food, which was supposed to be done by the Government. Every day, we see misleading ads in newspapers such as Hide & Seek, Parle G, and Protinex. No action is taken on the advertiser".

Dr. Gupta questioned why the government is not responding and why advertising is not banned for unhealthy food products.

What did he say in video?

In a one-minute video, Revant Himatsingka called out the brand for "miscommunicating" the product's "nutritional value". "Many of us have been consuming Bournivita for 10 years. Before Covid, they did not have an immunity system mentioned on the package. But now that they know everyone is looking for immunity. They added it because it sells", he said.

Elaborating, he said it contains the Colour 150C, which is a caramel color known for causing cancer and reducing immunity. "Every 100 grams has 49.8-gram sugar. Half of the Bournivita pack has sugar. How is it helping brains, and how is it legally allowed?" they asked.

"Should the government allow companies to blatantly lie on their package? Parents are getting their children addicted to sugar at a young age, and the children end up craving sugar throughout their lives," Himatsingka wrote, which was widely shared on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Deleted post, and apology note

The post notched over 12 million views on Instagram. However, it was deleted after the company served him a legal notice. The video was also shared by actor-politician Paresh Rawal, former cricketer, and MP Kirti Azad.

Himatsingka apologized to Bournvita and wrote: "I have decided to take down the (Bournvita) video after receiving a legal notice from one of India's biggest law firms on 13 April. I apologize to Cadbury for making the video. I did not plan or intend to infringe any trademark or defame any company, nor do I have the interest or resources to participate in any court cases, and I request MNCs not to take this forward legally."

What did Cadbury Bournvita say?

Mondelez India, which sells products of Cadbury, dismissed claims made by the social media influencer. They have issued a clarification about the product on their social media handle. "As we continued to witness an abnormal and unusual amount of traction on the post, we were constrained to take legal recourse to avoid misinformation. We also want to clarify and share the correct facts to allay the concerns of our consumers," Mondelez India said in a statement.

The company said Bournvita contains Vitamin A, C, and 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).

"We would again like to reinforce that the formulation has been scientifically crafted by a team of nutritionists and food scientists to offer the best taste and health. All our claims are verified and transparent, and all ingredients have regulatory approvals. All the necessary nutritional information is mentioned on the pack for consumers to make informed choices," the company said in its statement.

Nutrition experts say Bournvita is ultra-processed food (UPF)

Nutrition Advocacy in the public interest (NAPi) has complained to the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, against the company for violating provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

"The food product Bournvita falls under the ultra-processed food (UPF) category based on its ingredients list. This industrial formulation is inherently harmful. There is enough scientific evidence present in the public domain about the negative impact of increasing consumption of UPFs on human health, which include several chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression(Non-Communicable Diseases-NCDs)," said Dr. Arun Gupta.

The NAPi said more than 60% of deaths in India are due to non-communicable diseases, and overconsumption of UPFs is one of the major reasons. The claims by the company are vague and do not showcase or share any scientific evidence which could be referred to and reviewed by public health scientists.

Dr. Gupta said that in the statement issued by Bournvita, they are misleading and manipulating the consumers by bringing in the per-serve argument. The per-serve argument does not apply here as the product is fundamentally way above the unhealthy sugar content standard. The company is also appropriating the value of milk.

Dr. Gupta said they tried to complain to Consumer Protection Authority against Bournvita for the misleading advertisement, but they refused.

Guidelines for health influencers

Centre is planning to make it mandatory for health influencers to disclose qualifications. Guidelines will soon be issued for all online influencers promoting health and wellness products to disclose their qualifications.