‘Wholewheat’ label on McVitie’s Marie biscuits misleading, rules CCPA

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of ₹1 lakh on Pladis India Pvt. Ltd., the maker of McVitie’s biscuits, for what it termed a misleading claim on its Whole Wheat Marie biscuits.The consumer protection body said the McVities Whole Wheat Marie Biscuits contained only 19.5% whole wheat flour (atta), while 52% comprised refined wheat flour (maida), but the packaging of the product prominently displayed “Wholewheat” and wheat imagery, creating a false and misleading impression regarding its composition and characteristics.“Such claims falsely represents the product and gives a false guarantee to mislead the consumers as to the nature, substance, quantity or quality of such product which violates the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019,” the CCPA said.In an order dated August 28, the CCPA said the “use of such an absolute qualifier is neither incidental nor innocuous, rather, it is calculated to convey to consumers a clear and unequivocal impression and absence of any dilution or admixture”.It directed the company to immediately discontinue the false and misleading advertisement across print, electronic and social media. It also directed that all fresh packaging of the product be modified to remove the claim and asked the company to submit a compliance report within 15 days.The proceedings were initiated suo motu after the CCPA took note of a news report referring to a social media video by industrialist Harsh Goenka, which had raised concerns over food product labels which appeared to contradict ingredient lists.Pladis India had defended the use of “Wholewheat”, saying it was part of a registered trademark and was intended to distinguish the product from regular Marie biscuits, which are made up of refined wheat flour (maida) without addition of whole wheat flour as an ingredient. It also pointed to a disclaimer on the package which stated “this is only a trademark and does not represents its true nature”.The CCPA rejected the defence, holding that “a consumer cannot reasonably be expected to neglect the plain and prominent representation on the front of the package merely on account of a disclaimer in hardly noticeable font size directing that the expression does not represent the “true nature” of the product”.It said, “such an approach would effectively permit a manufacturer or marketer to make a potentially misleading representation as part of its branding and subsequently seek immunity by characterising the same as a trademark”.The CCPA concluded that the “Wholewheat” claims constitute “misleading advertisements and unfair trade practice within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and with affects consumers as a class”.During the proceedings, Pladis said it was willing to revise the packaging by removing “Wholewheat” from the trademark displayed on the pack. It also said it would not place fresh orders for packaging bearing the old branding and sought nine months to implement the revised packaging so that existing material could be exhausted.The CCPA nevertheless directed the company to ensure that, with effect from the date of the order, all fresh packaging of the product is duly modified so as to remove the use of false and misleading claim. It also ordered the company to discontinue “false and misleading advertisement with immediate effect from all print and electronic media including social media”. Published - September 01, 2026 07:53 am IST