Indian food products are in the top of refusal lists at the US FDA (Food & Drug Administration), mostly on the ground of being adulterated and misbranded.
According to the monthly refusal list issued by the Operational and Administrative System for Import Support (OASIS), of the US FDA, in October 2012, Indian food products were subject to 109 refusals, next only to China, which had the highest number of refusals, with 186 cases, in the same month.
Notably, in the month of August, India was subject to highest number of refusals, with 205 rejections, against 189 of China.
Notably, some of the known brands in India, and widely consumed, get rejected by the USFDA due to stringent food law in the US.
For example, in the month of September 2012, toothpaste under the manufacturer name of “Colgate Palmolive India Ltd” got refused, as the charge statement said, “the article appears to be a drug and fails to bear the proprietary or established name and/or name and quantity of each active ingredient.” In the same month, toothpaste under the manufacturer name, “Hindustan Unilever Limited” got rejected in the same ground.
Similarly, in September 2012, a product under the manufacturer name, “Haldiram Manufacturing Co. Pvt. Ltd” got refused under the charge sheet, “ the article appears to contain Salmonella, a poisonous and deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health.
In September too, India saw the second highest number of refusals, with 173 rejections. In the month of July, India witnessed the highest number of rejections, with 273 import refusal report for the country. In June, the number of refusals witnessed by Indian companies soared to high of 371, the highest in the month, according to the monthly import refusal report at USFDA.
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| Refusals | India | China |
| October 2012 | 109 | 186 |
| September 2012 | 173 | 208 |
| August 2012 | 205 | 189 |
| July 2012 | 273 | 205 |
| June 2012 | 371 | 257 |
| May 2012 | 164 | 162 |
| April 2012 | 230 | 216 |
| March 2012 | 166 | 225 |
| February 2012 | 209 | 138 |
| January 2012 | 284 | 233 |
Even pharmaceutical products are not spared from rejection in the US. For example, in the month of Jun 2012, product under the manufacturer name Cipla, was rejected, as the charge sheet said that the, “The article appears to be a new drug without an approved new drug application.” Last month, a product under the manufacturer name, “Sun Pharmaceutical Industries” faced a similar charge sheet in the USFDA.
Similarly, in the month of January, product under the manufacturer name, “Nestle India Ltd--Bicholim Factory”, got rejected, on the charge sheet that the “the article appears to be misbranded in that the label or labeling bears an unauthorized nutrient content/health claim.