Patanjali products fails quality test: RTI inquiry

In April, the Canteen Stores Department has suspended the sale of a batch of Patanjali Ayurveda amla juice to the armed forces.

Haridwar, May 30: A Right To Information query had revealed that nearly 40 per cent of ayurvedic products that include items from Baba Ramdev's Patanjali, were found to be of substandard quality by Haridwar's Ayurveda and Unani Office.

Among the 82 samples that were collected between 2013 to 2016, 32 have failed the test. Patanjali's Divya Amla Juice and Shivlingi Beej were among the products that failed to meet the standards of quality.

According to the RTI reply, it was found that 31.68 per cent of foreign matter was found in the Shivlingi Beej.

Acharya Balkrishna, Ramdev's associate and Patanjali's managing director denied the lab report and said that Shivlingi Beej is a natural seed and how can one adulterate it, adding that the report was an attempt to defame Patanjali's image.

According to reports, apart from Patanjali's items, 18 samples of Ayurveda drugs such as Avipattikara Churna, Talisadya Churna, Pushyanuga Churna, Lavan Bhaskar Churna, Yograj Guggulu, Laksha Guggulu also failed to meet the standards.

In April, the Canteen Stores Department has suspended the sale of a batch of Patanjali Ayurveda amla juice to the armed forces. The CSD is the retailing entity selling consumer goods to the Armed forces. The reason cited is that the product failed to pass a laboratory test.

A show cause notice was issued to the firm promoted by Yoga guru, Baba Ramdev after the product failed to clear the test carried out at West Bengal Public Health Laboratory, Kolkata. Further action would be taken on the issue after the firm replies to the show cause notice.

The CSD had sent out samples of the Amla Juice to the laboratory in Kolkata. Patanjali on the other hand in a statement said Uttarakhand's Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy Department had certified the Amla juice in 2009 - one of the top selling products. It said the amla juice is an ayurvedic medicine and not a food product and it should be taken on the advice of qualified practitioners.

Of late the many of the companies products have been getting an adverse feedback from consumers and retailers. This prompted the company to form two internal committees to sort out the problem. The company it may be recalled also ran into trouble with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for misbranding.
According to Uttarakhand state government lab report, the pH value- which measures the alkalinity of water soluble substances- was found to be less than the prescribed limit in the amla juice. Products with pH value less than seven could lead to acidity and other medical complications.

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