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India’s nutraceutical and dietary supplement industry is expanding. However, this rapid growth has also exposed gaps in regulation and oversight. In many cases, the information provided on product labels does not accurately indicate the contents. It is here clean labels is not a marketing buzzword but a systemic fix the industry urgently needs.
According to Satya Tiwari, MD & CEO, Voll Sante, a nutraceuticals company, scientific scrutiny indicated flaws. DNA barcoding studies have shown that herbal supplements frequently do not contain the plant species advertised. In many cases, other plant matter is substituted, raising the risk of allergic reactions or rendering the product ineffective.
The situation is even graver in categories like weight-loss, where international investigations have found supplements spiked with unapproved pharmaceutical drugs, including sibutramine and sildenafil analogues. Such adulteration is not just misleading but dangerous, exposing consumers to cardiovascular risks and drug interactions without their knowledge. Medical research has also established that herbal and dietary supplements are now responsible for a growing share of drug-induced liver injuries, proving that the harms are far from hypothetical, he added.
Clean labelling in supplements goes beyond avoiding artificial additives; it means full transparency in ingredients, quantified dosages of actives, batch-level traceability, and most importantly, independent third-party testing for contaminants and adulterants. When consumers can scan a QR code and access the certificate of analysis for the very batch they are buying, showing lab results for heavy metals, microbial loads, and pharmaceutical adulterants, it becomes harder for unsafe or fake products to hide in plain sight. Brands that adopt this approach also reduce liability from recalls, build consumer trust, and stand out in a crowded market that is increasingly shaped by demands for authenticity, said Tiwari.
India’s supplement industry has the potential to become a global leader, given the country’s tradition of botanicals and growing scientific base. But for that to happen, growth must be built on trust. Clean labels rooted in transparency, traceability, and independent verification offer a path to repair what is broken today. They give consumers the confidence that what they are swallowing is exactly what the label says it is, no less and no more, he said.
Regulatory frameworks, both globally and in India, have struggled to keep pace with this market. In many countries, including the US, regulators intervene only after products reach the market, relying heavily on manufacturers to self-certify safety and accuracy. India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) did introduce specific regulations for nutraceuticals and supplements in 2016, but implementation and enforcement remain inconsistent, leaving space for non-compliant and mislabelled products to slip through, said Tiwari.
Global evidence demonstrates that transparency works. Third-party certification programmes such as USP and NSF have long set benchmarks for purity and accuracy. The challenge, of course, lies in scaling such reforms. Independent testing and batch traceability add costs, especially for smaller manufacturers, but those costs are modest compared to the fallout of consumer mistrust, public health harm, and regulatory crackdowns. Shared testing hubs, phased compliance timelines, and supplier accreditation schemes could make clean-label systems achievable for all players, said Tiwari.
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