ITC, which claims its Aashirvaad brand is the country’s largest wheat flour brand, has argued that the August notices do not say that its “100% Atta” claim is untrue. (Amazon)ITC’s ‘100% Atta’ claim on its Aashirvaad MP Chakki Atta has drawn the ire of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which has called it misleading and threatened to cancel the company’s licence.The FMCG major moved the Delhi High Court, which has provided temporary relief. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma restrained the food safety regulator from deciding whether to cancel ITC’s licence over the product’s “100% Atta” and “100% Madhya Pradesh Wheat” claims. The protection against coercive action will remain in place until the next hearing on September 9.The court will also test whether the Delhi High Court has jurisdiction to hear ITC’s petition.Why FSSAI objected to ‘100%’In its plea, ITC sought that the FSSAI’s May 28 advisory on discontinuing the term ‘100%’ on food product labels, packaging and promotional content be stayed.The regulator, in its advisory, reasoned that the term ‘100%’ was not defined under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act or its rules, and may convey a false sense of purity or superiority which may mislead consumers.Two notices issuedThe company has also sought stay on the operation and effect of two notices issued in August.On August 10, the FSSAI asked the company to show cause as to why action should not be initiated against it for using labels claiming ‘100% atta’, and not complying with its May advisory. FSSAI also termed such labelling as “misleading”.Story continues below this adOn August 13, the Central Licensing Authority issued an ‘Improvement Notice’ to ITC — the marketer of the product — two manufacturers of the product and an e-commerce food business operator.The notice, issued under provisions of the FSS Act, directed the company “to remove the claim/term of 100% Atta & 100% Madhya Pradesh Wheat” along with “0% Maida on the product “Aashirvaad MP Chakki Atta” “across all labels/advertisements/website”. It had warned that failure to comply with the direction within 15 days may attract “suspension of FSSAI licence”.What ITC has arguedITC, which claims its Aashirvaad brand is the country’s largest wheat flour brand, has argued that the August notices do not say that its “100% Atta” claim is untrue.It claimed the regulator based the notices on “completely unscientific and unsubstantiated assumptions”.Story continues below this adThe company also highlighted that while the showcause notice granted them 30 days to respond, the improvement notice was issued within three days.Further, challenging the very validity of the advisory, the company pointed out that it was issued without following due procedure, and did not have “force of law and was not within the ambit and scope of the power conferred on FSSAI”.Why firm went to courtITC claimed the direction to immediately remove the ‘100%’ claims from all labels, along with the direction to e-commerce food businesses to take “necessary action”, could lead to the product being delisted and existing packaging and finished stock being withdrawn and destroyed.It said this could cause “grave commercial and reputational harm” that could not be reversed even if the notices were later set aside.Story continues below this adThe firm said its product is a single-ingredient wheat flour product, with its declared ingredient being whole wheat.The label bears “0% Maida, 100% Atta” and “100% Madhya Pradesh Wheat” and a related advertisement carries the line “Made from 100% MP Wheat Only”.Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on InstagramTags:delhi