Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : June 24, 2015 2:07 PM IST
Update: After we published this news, we received an email from Reckitt Benckiser giving us an official statement on how the loss of weight was due to moisture loss during shipping from manufacturing to the retail outlet. However, the question that arises is does a brand like RB use substandard packaging material that it permits moisture loss during shipping and does this happen to every batch shipped. Or, is it only this specific batch?
Here's their official statement:
Company Spokesperson, RB India
We confirm that Dettol Soap is 100% safe to use and it goes through a series of rigorous tests to ensure we comply with our internal standards and those defined by concerned authorities. We take this seriously and our quality tests note the batch weight is 125 grams at the time of packaging, as listed on the pack. As per the packaged commodities guidelines, the net weight specified on the pack is the weight observed at the time of packaging. Technically, all soaps lose moisture during the journey to retail outlets and hence we witness a drop in the weight. The letter we received from The Food and Drug Administration alleged a lesser weight and not the quality. We will collaborate with the concerned authorities and do a thorough investigation to understand the alleged difference in the product weight of the sample. As a brand trusted for over 80 years in the country, we are committed towards the health, safety and wellbeing of our consumers.
It is hard to understand why all leading brands are failing our trust with their products. After high lead and MSG found in Maggi samples, Dettol manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser reportedly failed laboratory tests.
Well, Dettol is not alone, 10 other medicines have failed laboratory tests and a notice will soon be sent to them. According to reports, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) collected samples from Agra in November last year and subsequently sent them for laboratory tests in Lucknow.
The report was sent to the FDA and Dettol and 10 other medicines that failed the tests. These products were declared sub-standard by the FDA.
The wrapper of the sample of Dettol soap collected by us mentioned its weight to be 125gm, said Agra drug inspector RC Yadav. However, the actual weight in our tests was 117.0470gms.
Besides, it was bought from the shop of one Santosh Kumar Valmiki who was found to be running the shop without a licence. The sample of the soap was found to be sub-standard and also failed our standard laboratory tests.
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