Complan’s tall claims fall short, FDA files chargesheet

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has filed a chargesheet against the company's claims that the health drink can add two inches to a child's height.

The FDA complaint, in which seven officials of the company have been named, was filed in the chief metropolitan court, Mazgaon.

The complaint alleges that Heinz has violated the provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954.

Based on independent study
Heinz India officials however denied the allegations and said, "We are not aware of any such complaint having been filed. We stand by our claim and would defend the same with appropriate research study."

"Our claim that children who drink Complan growing taller than others who don't is based on an independent scientific study conducted by the Department of Food Science and Nutrition of a reputed university in Tamil Nadu,” Heinz stated.

The peer-reviewed study that Heinz referred to was conducted on 900 Indian children over a period of 12 months. These participants, an equal number of boys and girls, were aged between 7 and 12 years.

The age, height, weight, and socio-economic status of these participants were measured before and after the one year study during which the children were divided into three control groups.

One group remained on a regular diet, the second was put on a full diet plus Complan prepared in water while the third had a full diet in addition to the Complan prepared in milk.

The complan advertisement shows that the third group, which had complan with milk, gets the height advantage.

“The study proves that children who drink Complan along with a regular diet grow significantly faster in height compared to those who had only regular diet which is not properly planned," claims Heinz.

Not registered with clinical trial registries
The move against Heinz was initiated by pediatrician Dr R K Anand, who in connivance with the Association for Consumers' Action on Safety & Health (ACASH) studied the claims of the company.

Doctors from the Indian Academy of Pediatrics were also roped in to study the authenticity of the research paper on which the complan ad is based.

Dr H P S Sachdev, former professor from Maulana Azad Medical College pointed out the flaw in the study on which the ad is based, "The Complan trial does not seem to have been registered with clinical trial registries and so it is difficult to determine any deviation from protocol.”

“Standard indexed international journals currently do not accept for publication any trial not registered in a standard clinical trials registry," added Sachdev.