The storm was raised, last month, when the two leading pharma majors-Parry Nutraceuticals Ltd, part of the Rs 3,800 crore Murugappa group and Sanat Products Ltd, part of the Rs 1,042 Dabur group-locked horns over each other's ad on Spirulina, a natural food supplement. The first salvo was filed by Parry which through its advertisement for its product Parry's Spirulina claimed not only the US FDA approval for its product but also claimed to be `the only one Indian Spirulina that is exported to the US'. Reacting to Parry's ads, Sanat released a `public interest ad' the following week alerting consumers by stating `Consumers of Spirulina do not be misled-the US FDA does not approve Spirulina or any other food supplement for human consumption in the USA. The Delhi-based Sanat markets its own Spirulina under the Sunova brandname.

Upholding Sanat's complaint on Parry's press ads, the Council says that the claim, ``presenting the American viewpoint on why the better Spirulina comes from Parry,'' has not been substantiated with any relevant survey/trials data. It further notes that ``this claim is also misleading since the US FDA certificate does not involve comparable testing of similar products. The claim of `better Spirulina' is misleading.'' Further, it states that: ``The claims that there is only one Indian Spirulina that is exported to the US and no other Spirulina consistently meets the US FDA standards'' are misleading, since no evidence has been provided by the advertiser, that other specific Spirulina products from India have failed to meet the US FDA standards.''

As regards the product literature, ASCI has upheld that the claim of the US FDA approval was false.