The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a ₹1 lakh penalty on United Biscuits Private Limited (formerly Pladis India Private Limited) for misleading consumers by marketing “McVitie’s Wholewheat Marie Biscuits” under a wholewheat label despite the product containing only 19.5 percent whole wheat flour. The regulatory action originated from a suo motu inquiry triggered by a social media article questioning the brand’s health and natural claims, leading to an investigation by the Directorate General (Investigation) that confirmed the discrepancy in its July 16, 2026 report. In its ruling, the CCPA firmly rejected United Biscuits’ defense that “wholewheat” was protected as a registered trademark, explicitly stating that trademark protection cannot serve as a license to make misleading representations on product labels. Furthermore, the authority dismissed the company’s fine-print ingredient disclaimer, establishing that a technical disclosure placed in small font below a prominent claim is practically difficult to notice and cannot legally neutralize or correct an otherwise misleading package representation.
CCPA Rejects Trademark Defense, Penalizes United Biscuits for Misleading Packaging
