What 'Clinically Tested' and Similar Claims Mean on Indian Packaging

Claims on food and supplement packaging in India fall under the FSSAI's Advertising and Claims Regulations of 2018, which require claims to be truthful, unambiguous and substantiated by scientific evidence, and which bar a health supplement from claiming to prevent or cure a disease - the reason NOT FOR MEDICINAL USE is printed on the pack. Within that, the words carry different weight. Clinically proven means a study showed an effect; clinically tested means a study was conducted and says nothing about its result. Dermatologically tested, on cosmetics, is unregulated wording meaning a test of some kind occurred. Doctor recommended usually means a survey. Natural and herbal have no defined standard on a supplement, and an Ayurvedic product carries an AYUSH licence rather than an FSSAI one. Claims in advertising and influencer content are policed by the Advertising Standards Council rather than the label rules. The check that resolves most of it is to ask the brand for the study behind the claim and read whether it tested this product, in how many people, and what it found.

1. The regulation, and what it requires: The FSSAI's Advertising and Claims Regulations, 2018, apply to claims on food and supplement labels and advertising. Claims must be truthful, unambiguous, meaningful and supported by scientific evidence, and a health supplement may not claim to treat, cure or prevent a disease. Certain reduction-of-disease-risk claims need the regulator's prior approval. That is the frame every phrase below sits inside. 2. Tested is not proven: Clinically tested means a study was carried out. It does not say what the study found, on how many people, or whether it tested this product or an ingredient in a different dose. Clinically proven is a stronger claim that an effect was shown, and it is the one that needs evidence behind it. A pack that says tested where it could have said proven is usually telling you which result it got. 3. Dermatologically tested, on cosmetics: Cosmetics sit under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act rather than the FSSAI, and dermatologically tested is not a defined term. It means a dermatologist was involved in a test of some kind. It does not mean the product suits sensitive skin or any particular skin, and it is not a safety certification. The sunscreen guide covers the one cosmetic claim, SPF, that does have a testing standard behind it. 4. Doctor recommended, and other surveys: Recommended by doctors, or by a stated percentage of them, usually describes a survey commissioned by the brand. It is a marketing claim about opinions, not evidence about the product, and the sample and the question are rarely on the pack. Treat it as an endorsement, which is what it is. 5. Natural, herbal and the AYUSH licence: On a supplement, natural and herbal have no defined standard and describe sourcing at best. A product licensed as an Ayurvedic, Siddha or Unani medicine carries an AYUSH licence number rather than an FSSAI one, sits under a different regulator, and may make claims a food supplement cannot. Check which licence is on the pack, because it tells you which rules the claims are subject to. 6. Defined claims: high protein, sugar-free and the like: Some phrases do have thresholds. High protein, source of fibre, sugar-free and low fat are defined by the regulations with minimum or maximum amounts per serving or per 100 grams. These are the claims worth trusting on their face, and the supplement label guide covers how to read the figures they rest on. 7. Where the claim is made changes who polices it: A claim on the label is the FSSAI's to enforce. A claim in an advertisement, a website or an influencer's post falls to the Advertising Standards Council of India's code and its complaints process, and enforcement there is slower and after the fact. A brand that makes a claim in its marketing that it does not print on its pack has usually chosen the venue deliberately.

Read tested and proven as different claims, and treat a pack that says tested as one that did not get the result it wanted to print. Treat dermatologically tested and doctor recommended as marketing rather than evidence. Check whether a product carries an FSSAI licence or an AYUSH one, since that decides which rules its claims fall under. Trust the defined claims - high protein, sugar-free, source of fibre - which have thresholds, and read the figures behind them. For any claim that matters to your decision, ask the brand for the study and look for whether it tested this product, in how many people, and what it found; a brand that cannot produce one has answered the question. The genuine supplement guide covers whether the product is real; this page is about whether the words on it mean anything. It is not guidance on whether a supplement or cosmetic will work for you or suit a medical condition, which is a question for a doctor, a dermatologist or a registered dietitian.