Mumbai, August 16: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has served show-cause notices to prominent Bollywood personalities Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff regarding their participation in a chewing elaichi promotional campaign, state officials confirmed. Regulatory authorities stated that the advertisement campaign prima facie appears to function as surrogate promotion for a pan masala brand banned within the state.
Invoking Section 24 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the regulatory body directed the actors to submit written responses detailing their involvement and brand associations. Notices were dispatched directly to Devgn’s residence in Juhu, Khan’s residence in Bandra, and Shroff through his production venture, Tiger Shroff Productions LLP.
“Upon examination of the said advertisement, it prima facie appears that the advertisement promotes the Vimal brand, which is mainly associated with Pan Masala, a product prohibited for manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale,” the FDA notice declared.
The regulatory intervention aligns with an ongoing statewide drive by Maharashtra authorities against adulterated food items and prohibited tobacco-containing mouth fresheners. State notifications issued on July 13 enforce a year-long prohibition on the storage, distribution, and sale of tobacco-related pan masala items. Authorities maintained that celebrities must ensure required due diligence before lending their platform to brand extensions of restricted products.
