Karnataka HC stays FSSAI advisory on use of Ashwagandha in major relief to US-based Kerry Inc, 7 other firms

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has stayed a Union government advisory restricting the use of Ashwagandha leaves in food and health supplements, granting interim relief to eight companies, including the US-based Kerry Inc.

The companies manufacture health and wellness products using Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera), an ayurvedic herb.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an advisory on April 16 allowing manufacturers to use only the roots and root extracts of Ashwagandha in their products, while prohibiting the use of leaves and leaf extracts. The advisory referred to a notification issued by the ministry of Ayush a day earlier on the subject.


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Kerry Inc., its Bengaluru-based Indian arm, Sami-Sabinsa Group, K Patel Phyto Extractions, SA Herbal Bioactives LLP, Sakti Naturals, Unicorn Natural Products, OmniActive Health Technologies and Konark Herbals and Healthcare challenged the FSSAI advisory and Ayush Ministry's directive before the Karnataka High Court.

A vacation bench of Justice SR Krishna Kumar, hearing the petitions on May 12, stayed the FSSAI advisory and the ministry of Ayush directions. The court posted the matter for further hearing on June 8 while granting liberty to the FSSAI and the ministry to seek modification or vacation of the interim order before that date.

The companies argued that the FSSAI advisory violated provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and that the regulator could not prohibit the use of parts of a food supplement through an advisory without first amending the relevant regulations.

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Kerry Group’s Indian arm submitted that it had been manufacturing products using Ashwagandha leaves for more than 30 years with the knowledge of the FSSAI, which had never raised objections earlier. It also argued that the Ayush ministry’s notification did not establish that the use of Ashwagandha leaves posed any safety concerns.