Dabur Replies to Claims of Carcinogens in Honey, Calls them ‘Motivated’ and ‘Baseless’

New Delhi (India), 04/08/23: Dabur India Ltd. dismissed reports of cancer-causing substances in their honey, calling the claims “motivated” and “baseless.”

According to a Zee News report , a high percentage of carcinogenic substance was discovered in the popular brand Dabur Honey. Dabur Honey samples were evaluated at the National Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food.

CEO Mohit Malhotra commented on the situation after a post- earnings Conference Call on Thursday, he said, “We stand by the purity of Dabur Honey…Every single batch of Dabur Honey dispatched from our factories complies with all FSSAI parameters, including HMF.”

He further added, “”In fact, Dabur Honey is the only leading honey brand in the country which has been granted the Agmark special certification post inspection and proper due diligence…This certifies the purity of Dabur Honey. We are also the only Indian honey brand that is packed in (the) U.S. FDA certified facilities.”

According to Abneesh Roy of Nuvama Wealth Management, honey products generate 6-7% of Dabur’s income in India and 5% of consolidated revenue. He does not expect a significant impact on honey sales in the long run, but there may be a “small” impact in the short term.

However, this is not the first time Dabur’s honey has been involved in a scandal due to failing quality testing. The Centre for Science and Environment reported in 2020 that honey marketed by 13 Indian manufacturers, including Dabur, had been contaminated with sugar syrup.

As part of an inquiry, the environment watchdog stated at the time that Dabur Honey failed the demanding nuclear magnetic resonance test, which is regarded the global gold standard for honey.

Dabur, on the other hand had dismissed the findings at the time, claiming that it was the only corporation in the country with NMR testing equipment in its own laboratory.

In India, NMR testing have been made mandatory for honey that is meant for export and the ruling has been in place since August 1, 2020.

“India’s food regulator has set about 65 parameters, and Dabur complies with all of them,” Malhotra added. “So, the report is simply motivated to malign the image of the market leader.”

Malhotra concluded by stating that Dabur has acquired 500 basis points of market share since the last issue caused by the CSE report, which is a “clear indication that Dabur remains a strong player.”