Yoga guru Ramdev’s Amla Juice will is no longer available at the canteen stores department(CSD) for India’s defence forces. The decision to suspend the sale of the Patanjali product has been taken after it received a negative test report from a state laboratory about the product. The CSD has asked all its branches to send back Amla Juice to Patanjali. The letter about the notification of the decision was written on April 3, 2017 directing all its depots to make debit notes for their existing stock to expedite the return process.
Patanjali which has now established itself in the consumer market had its amla Juice as one of the first consumer launches of the brand. As per reports, a batch of juice tested at the lab in Kolkata was declared unfit for consumption. This is the same lab which had detected high lead levels and MSG in the packets of Nestle Maggi noodles two years ago. The furore over the issue had forced Nestle to withdraw the brand from several outlets across India.
Patanjali had earlier also faced the ire for selling noodles and pasta without relevant licenses. The advertisements of some of its products have been accused of misleading customers.
Nearly 5,300 products are sold at CSD’s retail outlets. These include biscuits, beer, shampoos and even cars to 12 million serving personnel of the Army, Navy and the Air Force, ex-servicemen, and their families. The CSD canteens were started in 1948 and are managed by Ministry of Defence. It comprises of 3,901 unit-run canteens and 34 depots.
