After facing backlash, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has revised its directive, which required state-owned dairy product manufacturers to label curd as ‘dahi’. The decision came after several milk federations in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, raised objections to the use of the Hindi word ‘dahi’ instead of regional nomenclatures. The FSSAI has now allowed food business operators (FBOs) to use the term "curd" along with any other prevalent regional common name in brackets on the label.
Earlier this month, the FSSAI had instructed the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to label curd as "Dahi" prominently and use the Kannada equivalent "Mosaru" in brackets. However, this directive caused an outcry among Kannada groups who saw it as an imposition of Hindi in Karnataka.
Following the protests, the FSSAI issued a statement saying that "as many representations were received recently on the omission of the term 'curd' from the Standards of Fermented Milk Products, it has been decided that FBOs may use the term Curd along with any other designation (prevalent regional common name) in brackets on the label."
March 30, PRESS RELEASE@MoHFW_INDIA pic.twitter.com/iWjwUbzCt3
— FSSAI (@fssaiindia) March 30, 2023
Nandini, the popular dairy brand managed by KMF, is a massive cooperative network catering to 26 lakh farmers in the state, with an annual turnover of Rs 25,000 crore. The network handles various stages of milk production, processing, and distribution.