India finds Nestle baby food sample substandard, takes legal action

India's food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), announced on Friday that it had discovered a Nestle baby food sample to be substandard and is taking legal action against the Swiss company in one of its largest markets. The FSSAI did not immediately comment on the action, but this is the latest in a series of crackdowns on India's $100 billion food industry, which have included surprise factory visits and product testing.

The regulator found a sample of Nestle's "follow-up formula," a milk product for infants, to be "sub-standard with respect to biotin," a vitamin commonly known as vitamin B7. The FSSAI specified a standardized reference range for biotin in baby food, and a re-analysis of the sample confirmed that it was "non-conforming" with the prescribed biotin requirements under Indian laws.

It remains unclear whether the regulator will order a recall of the product. Nestle, which counts India as a key growth market, generates a third of its $2.4 billion in revenue from milk and nutrition products, including infant formulas and baby foods. The FSSAI has also filed cases against two other Nestle baby food products, NAN Excella Pro Stage 1 and Lactogen Pro 1, for making misleading claims in violation of regulations.

The regulator has filed three separate adjudication cases against Nestle. This is not the first time Nestle has faced legal action from India's food regulator; in 2015, the authority banned its popular Maggi noodles due to alleged excess lead levels and labeling mistakes, resulting in a massive recall. Maggi later returned to shelves after additional testing.

Food safety in India has become a contentious issue since Reuters reported last month that the government opted for a weaker labeling regime after lobbying by Coca-Cola and allies backing Nestle and PepsiCo, who argued that warning labels were ineffective. However, many companies have voluntarily implemented such measures in European markets.