Nestle, Zydus, Abbott face India scrutiny over claims on children's products

Adds detail to Abbott's response in last bullet

BENGALURU, Oct 21 (Reuters) - India's food safety regulator issued notices to Nestle India NEST.NS, Zydus Wellness ZYDS.NS, Abbott Healthcare and others on Wednesday over promotional claims involving products for infants and children that it said breached rules.

The action comes days after the regulator proposed banning the addition of sucrose and fructose to foods for infants up to six months old, as India steps up scrutiny of food safety and pushes for front-of-pack warning labels, rattling the country's more than $100 billion packaged food industry.

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said it issued notices over products including Complan, Lactogen Pro 1 Powder, NAN Excella Pro Stage 1 and infant milk substitutes.

• The regulator asked Nestle India to provide evidence supporting claims about digestive and immune-system benefits for its Lactogen Pro 1 Powder and NAN Excella Pro Stage 1 infant formula products.

• Nestle India said FSSAI's latest post reiterated issues raised on September 18 concerning product labels, and that it had already submitted a detailed response to the regulator.

• Zydus Wellness was asked to provide scientific justification for claims promoting its Complan children's drink, including the tagline "grow taller, faster. clinically proven 2X growth."

• The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

• FSSAI also issued notices to social media influencer Ira Fathima and companies including Abbott Healthcare and Nestle India over an Instagram reel promoting infant milk substitutes.

• An Abbott spokesperson said the company was not involved in or aware of the social media content referenced by the FSSAI notice and became aware of the content only after receiving the regulator's notice.

• "Abbott does not endorse the claims or representations contained in the content," the spokesperson said. The company added that it had shared this information with the regulator.

(Reporting by Abinaya V in Bengaluru and Natalia Bueno Rebolledo in Mexico City; Editing by Anil D'Silva)