Ramdev's Patanjali Amla juice found unsafe; Army canteens suspend sale

The canteen stores department(CSD), the retailing platform for India's defence forces suspended the sale of Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved's amla juice after receiving a negative state laboratory test report about the product. In a letter dated April 3, 2017, the CSD asked all depots to make debit notes for their existing stock so that the Amla Juice can be sent back to Patanjali.

Amla Juice was one of Patanjali's first consumer launches which helped the company establish its credentials in the consumer business segment. As per reports, a batch of juice tested at the lab in Kolkata was declared unfit for consumption. Patanjali has therefore withdrawn amla juice from all army canteens.

According to a report of  Economic Times, CSD is the retailer for India's defence forces with selling nearly 5,300 products to about 12 million personnel of the Indian defence services, including their families and ex-servicemen.

It must be noted here that the same lab in Kolkata had detected high lead levels and MSG in the samples of Nestle Maggi noodles two years ago, that had initially led Nestle to withdraw the brand across India.

It is not the first time that Patanajli has fallen into a controversy. The company had been also questioned for selling noodles and pasta without relevant licences. Advertisements of some of its products are accused of misleading customers.
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