Bollywood stars told to drop surrogate ad in Indian state's food safety drive

Three renowned Bollywood stars, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff, have been informed by the Maharashtra state authorities in India to cease using surrogate advertisements for Vimal's cardamoms. The warning comes amid a food safety drive in the state that has already led to the suspension of licenses for numerous local and foreign restaurants due to poor hygiene practices. The state's new food safety chief has garnered significant popularity on social media for his stringent actions.

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration issued a notice to the actors, emphasizing that the promotion of Vimal's cardamoms, which is primarily associated with a prohibited beetle nut mix known as pan masala, may have the unintended consequence of promoting the prohibited product. Health experts caution that pan masala is a leading cause of oral fibrosis, which can progress to oral cancer.

The actors have been given 15 days to respond to the warning and remove the advertisements from their social media accounts. They are also asked not to cooperate with any further broadcast of these surrogate ads and to provide details of their endorsement agreements with the manufacturer. Surrogate advertisements have previously raised concerns in India, with the federal government facing opposition from the industry regarding their misleading nature.

The Maharashtra authorities' actions highlight the ongoing debate over the regulation of surrogate advertisements, with some suggesting stricter rules to prevent misleading promotions by liquor companies.