As Army Canteens Ban Its Amla Juice, Patanjali Faults Test Process

Patanjali said the product had been tested under FSSAI standards while it comes under the AYUSH Ministry’s ambit.

Patanjali’s amla juice has been removed from the shelves of all 3,901 outlets of the armed foreces’ canteen sales department. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/@Patanjali)

After a media report said that the sale of amla juice made by Patanjali Ayurved Ltd had been suspended in all defence canteens, the company owned by yoga guru Baba Ramdev has claimed that the product is safe and the confusion had arisen because the product had wrongly been tested under FSSAI standards.

According to the report in The Economic Times, a batch of the amla juice made by Patanjali was tested at the Central Food Lab in Kolkata and had been declared “unfit for consumption”.

However, Patanjali claimed that the test had followed FSSAI standards while its amla juice was a “medicinal product” and it therefore came under the ambit of the Ministry of AYUSH.

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Mint quoted a Patanjali spokesperson as saying:

It (the amla juice) 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.

The spokesperson added that the company has written to the canteen stores department (CSD), the defence forces’ retail entity which had suspended the sale of the amla juice, explaining the same.

The spokesperson added that the product will be back on sale in army canteens soon.

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