Baba Ramdev Claims Amla Juice Is Medicinal Product, Safe For Consumption; Blames Army For Wrong Test!

After the military banned Patanjali’s Amla Juice from their stores, a huge controversy has erupted regarding the quality checks conducted by Baba Ramdev’s fast growing FMCG company.

Such was the heat generated, that Baba Ramdev had to come out, and give a response. And it seems, the response by Baba will further ignite the controversy, as he has blamed Army for conducting wrong tests.

Interestingly, the Govt. lab in Kolkata which found Patanjali’s Amla Juice to be substandard, is the same lab which found lead & MSG content in Maggi, which led to their demise in India.

CSD To Patanjali: Your Amla Juice Is Substandard

Canteen stores department (CSD), the retail division for Indian defense forces, tested Patanjali’s Amla Juice, and found the content to be sub-standard, unfit for human consumption.

CSD officials had sent Amla Juice by Patanjali, bearing index no.85417 and batch No. GH1502 to West Bengal Public Health Laboratory, Kolkata for testing. After receiving a negative report, CSD issued a letter dated April 3rd, wherein every CSD depot in the country has been asked to return Amla Juice units back to Patanjali.

CSD sells 5300+ products to 12 million defense personals, which includes Army, Airforce and Navy. There are close to 3900 CSD depots across India.

Such mass level boycott of Patanjali’s products from India’s most secured and safe retail operations is a big blot on their reputation.

Baba Ramdev To CSD: Amla Juice Is Fine, Your Tests Are Wrong

Taking a hard-hitting stand, Baba Ramdev has come out strongly in support to their Amla Juice, and have blamed the CSD for conducting wrong tests.

Baba Ramdev has said that Amla Juice is a medicinal product, and unlike other food products and juices sold in the market, there has to be different tests to determine its purity.

As per Baba, the current tests done at Kolkata has been executed under the norms prescribed by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which is wrong. Considering that Amla Juice is an Ayurved product, the testing should be conducted by AYUSH ministry.

In a statement, Patanjali said, “It comes under the purview of the Ministry of AYUSH. The test conducted by the Central Food Laboratory in Kolkata was done following the standards set by FSSAI. Our amla juice is a medicinal product and is safe for consumption,”

Note here, that CSD officials have already sent an official complaint to Patanjali over failure of the tests, and have demanded an explanation via showcase notice. As per experts, regulations of CSD clearly mentions legal action, in case Patanjali is not able to justify the failure of tests.

Patanjali further said, “We have also written to the CSD explaining this. Patanjali amla juice will be back to CSD shelves soon..”

Earlier, such concerns regarding Patanjali’s cow ghee had also erupted, when Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Haryana found their ghee as sub-standard.

At that time, Patanjali had said, “Contents in cow ghee are different from the ghee other companies sell. Even the standards set by FSSAI are based on available products and not cow ghee. We are the first company to bring cow ghee in commercial market. There is no standard for cow ghee. So it does not make sense,”

Do you think that Patanjali’s reckless expansion mode, wherein they are launching a product every week, is making their quality weaker? Should Patanjali invest more in ensuring that thier products are of the best quality?

Do let us know your views by commenting right here.