Per Shri Pradeep G. Kadu, Hon’ble President

Brief Facts of the case :-

1)                This is a consumer complaint filed by the abovenamed Complainant u/s 34 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.According to the Complainant, the brief facts of the present complaint are as follows:

2)                The Complainant Mr. Rahul Raj Shekhavatisa fitness enthusiast who is has been religiously working out for the past 16 years to maintain his physical health and body.

3)                On 14.02.2023, the Complainant purchased a protein powder called ‘Big-muscles Nutrition from e-commerce website Amazon.com for total consideration of Rs.1,599/-. The product was sold by the authorised retailer of BM on Amazon namely ‘R.K. Worldinfocom Pvt. Ltd.’ which was delivered to Complainant on 15.02.2023.

4)                As per the advertisement of the said product by the company it is claimed as ‘100% Performance whey protein powder contains 24grm of high quality protein with no added sugar’.

5)                The Complainant after purchase came across with some reviews on the said product which  had criticized that the product is amino-spiked and the claims made by the BM is misleading the consumers. To ascertain the fact and genuity of the product, the Complainant decided to conduct ‘Nutritional testing’ and ‘Amino profile testing’ on the said product.

6)                Complainant also wrote an email to BM to which BM replied to the Complainant that the product is completely safe to consume and has the same nutrition value as it claims.  BM also provided a link of the lab report which showed the protein test done on behest of the BM on the said product to authenticate its claim.

7)                Complainant after performing test from a reputed lab ( Eqinox Lab ) it was found that the product not only spiked but also high in sugar and carbs which is in fact entirely contrary to what BM originally envisaged on the product.

8)                The Complainant states that the above obtaining reports on the product he did follow up with opposite party to get reply on this and also served legal notices to them. However, till date, the Opposite Parties did not bother to reply to the said legal notice.

9)                The Complainant states that despite the knowledge that protein-spiking is misleading to consumers, Opposite Parties continues to advertise, distribute, label, manufacture, market, and sell the Product in a misleading and deceptive manner by including protein-spiking agents in the overall protein content. Also, the labelling falsely displays that there is zero total sugar as oppose to total 9.60 (per 100g) actual sugar content in the product. The Opposite Parties are exploiting their consumer in the market by advertising false claims for a product and unfairly deceiving into purchasing the product which they would not otherwise have purchased which is a clear case of unfair trade practice done by the Opposite parties. Hence the Complainant is filing the present complaint. 

Contentions by Complainant and Opposite party

10)              Complainant during proceedings of the case filed his written arguments and various documentary evidences to support his contentions. This includes purchase invoice of the product, information available about the product, lab reports, correspondence with the opposite party, etc. Whereas opposite party remained absent inspite of notices duly served on them. As opposite parties didn’t appear before the commission, exparte orders passed against them on 16.04.2024.

Complainant in his written argument made emphasis on lab report, literature available in the public domain about such products and citation  FrancisVadakkanvsDhatriAyurved Pvt Ltd.

Observations and Conclusions

11)         Ms.Ruchita Patel Learned Advocate represented the complainant before this commission. We also peruse the reports and documents produced before the commission. Accordingly, on the basis of available records, we have made following observations

1. Complainant bought a whey protein from M/s RK World Infocom Private Limited through amazon.in for ₹1599/-. It is a 1 KG quantity whey protein named as big muscles, nutrition performance whey protein. As per the invoice content are mentioned in the description of the invoice. Date of purchase is 15 February 2 023.
2. M/s RKWorldInfocommPvt Ltd is the authorised retailer of big muscle nutritions company.
3. On 21st March 2023, complainant, Mr Rahul Shekhavat enquired with customer support of Big Muscle Nutrition Co. about the quality of the product. Mrs. Big muscles nutrition reply to the email asking the source of the purchase. The address mention in the mail is A– 207, Road number four, Lane number nine, Mahipalpur, New Delhi 110037.
4. Complainant brought analytical report of the said product on record which was displayed on website of the company. The said analytical report mentions protein content in the said product 23.02 g./39 g
5. Complainant while using the product, did some research about the product and came across some criticism about the product. Being fitness freak, complainant did a private testing of the product form reputed lab named as Equinox Labs. On 23rd March 23, the said lab submitted test reports to the complainant. Complainant observed that the said report doesn’t matches with the claims made by the big muscle nutrition company about the said product.
6. Complainant after receiving the said report of lab sent mail to support team on BM’s official website to which they replied and informed that they will review the said request. Thereafter, there is no communication from the opposite party.
7. Complainant submitted a comparison chart of the said product, which describes the factual information of the product and its content as below.

Table demonstrating the  claims of the Big Muscles Company on the product label and the Actual content as per the Lab Report.

Level-1 Test (Macro Accuracy Testing)

Level-2 Test (Amino Acid Profiling Test)

• Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and their combined mass gives an estimate of the protein content in the sample.
• The total amino acid content per serving (39 grams) is approximately 23.25 grams.
• To determine the exact protein content and identify the spiked amino acids, we'll need to separate the contribution of the suspected spiking agents from the total amino acid content.

Data Analysis

Total Amino Acid Content Per Serving (39 grams):

• Total amino acids: 23.25 grams (as calculated previously)

Brand's Claim:

• Protein content per scoop (39 grams): 24 grams

Suspected Spiking Agents (based on high content and common usage in spiking):

• Alanine: 8.3343 grams
• Aspartic Acid: 1.3689 grams
• Glycine: 1.7589 grams
• Lysine: 0.8385 grams
• Tyrosine: 2.7378 grams

Calculations

1. Total Content of Spiking Agents:
   • Total spiking agents = Alanine + Aspartic Acid + Glycine + Lysine + Tyrosine
   • Total spiking agents=8.3343+1.3689+1.7589+0.8385+2.7378

2. Non-Spiked Protein Content:                                                Non-spiked protein content=Total amino acids−Total spiking agents Non-spiked protein content=23.25−(Total spiking agents)         
3. Spiked Protein Content: Spiked protein content=Total spiking agents

Let's compute these values.

Results

1. Total Content of Spiking Agents:
   • Alanine: 8.3343 grams
   • Aspartic Acid: 1.3689 grams
   • Glycine: 1.7589 grams
   • Lysine: 0.8385 grams
   • Tyrosine: 2.7378 grams
   • Total Spiking Agents:15.0384 grams
2. Non-Spiked Protein Content:
   • Non-Spiked Protein Content: 08.22 grams
3. Spiked Protein Content:
   • Spiked Protein Content: 15.03 grams

Findings of the testing

1. Protein content of the product grossly matched with the claim of the opposite party. However it is found that the protein powder is significantly spiked with non-disclosed amino acids, specifically Alanine + Aspartic Acid + Glycine + Lysine + Tyrosine.
2. Out of the 23.25 grams of total amino acids per serving, approximately 15.03 grams are from these spiking agents, leaving only 08.22 grams as the actual non-spiked protein content.
3.  This discrepancy highlights that the product does not fully meet the brand's claim of 24 grams of protein per serving, suggesting the use of amino spiking to artificially inflate the protein content. ​
4. Total sugar claimed by the opposite party/supplier of whey protein powder is 0 gms, whereas  as per test results it is found 9.60 gms per 100 gms.
5. Total carbs claimed by the opposite party/supplier of whey protein powder is 7 gms, whereas  as per test results it is found 31.92 gms per 100 gms.

12)              Based on the said Lab report it is confirmed that The brand label makes a series of false claims regarding the ingredients in the Product, most particularly about the nature of the protein content.

It can be concluded that M/s  BigMuscle Nutrition has spiked the protein content of the product with non-disclosed amino acids and non-protein ingredients to increase the protein content of the Product. Adding nitrogen-rich components to raise the level of measured protein is commonly referred to as “protein-spiking,” “nitrogen-spiking” or “amino-spiking.

13)              Complainant also referred a case law of M/s Francis VadakkanvsDhathri Ayurveda Pvt Ltd. However facts of the said case totally differs from the facts of the impugned case. Hence we refuse accept the ratio of the said case law for this case. Other references and literatures filed by complainant can not be authenticated as the source of information in these submissions can not be confirmed. However, overall outcome of the lab report gives more clear idea of the contents of the product which opposite party sold to the complainant. The said protein powder found not only spiked with unknown amino acids to increase the protein content but also high in sugar and carbs which is in fact entirely contrary to what Big Muscle Nutrition originally envisaged on the product. Complainant further through his written argument invited our attention towards the adverse effects of such spiked protein powders. The complainant rightly submitted that consumption of such product is far from healthy either for body and mind. Studies shows that consumption of such a protein spiked powder can lead to short-term side effects headaches, acne, bloating, nausea, and even diarrhea. Apart from these, prolonged consumption of amino spiked whey protein can lead to some long-term side effects like heart issues and liver damage. There are deaths reported all over India recently which are known to be caused due to consumption of low-quality health supplements/ nutraceutical products. As a result, FSSAI condemning such unfair trade practice of such food/health supplement manufacturing companies in India. Although there are no reports or evidence or documents submitted by complainant in this regards however disparity in the contents of the product as brought on record through the lab testing of the said product definitely a cause of concern and such adverse effects can not be ruled out altogether. The attempt of spiking of the protein content with the aid of unknown amino acid is hence condemnable, and can not be accepted.  Hence, we are of the concerned opinion that making false claim of the content of the product sold to the customer which can adversely affect the heath of the customer is definitely a deficiency in service and despite the knowledge that protein-spiking is misleading to consumers, the Opposite Parties continues to advertise, distribute, label, manufacture, market, and sell the Product in a misleading and deceptive manneramounts to Unfair Trade Practice.Thus, complainant’s claim about the impugned product is defective being spiked with unknown amino acid to show enhanced percent of protein content. Hence,opposite party is found guilty of deficiency of service for making false claim about the product sold to the complainant and making wrong claims about the content of the product. Opposite party is also guilty of applying unfair trade practice by claiming wrong claim about the content of the product sold as defined in the sec 2(47) (i) of Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Thus, on the contentions of the complainant, following points arise for determination on which we record above findings with the reasons mentioned in the observations and conclusions.

14) As to Point No.1 &2 :- Based on the above findings, we are of the concerned opinion that complainant deserves for the refund of the cost of product, expenses incurred for lab test of product, compensation for mental agony and legal expenses. The Complainant has claimed Rs.50,000/- towards considerations from the opposite party. However, we could confirm payment of Rs 1,599/- towards the cost of product purchased by the complainant and expenses of Lab testing for Rs 34,810/- ( Rs 5,310 + Rs 29,500 )spent by the complainant totalling to Rs. 36,409/- . The complainant has claimed 18% interest per annum. However, it is unreasonable as market interest rates are not that steep. Hence, we hereby confirm 6% interest per annum on Rs.36,409/-  from 01/04/2023 as the payments made by complainant in February and March 2023.The Complainant has claimed compensation of Rs.5,00,000/ towards mental agony and Rs.50,000/- towards litigation costs. Considering facts, circumstance and evidence of the Complainant coupled with time waste in fighting with Respondent since the inception of the transaction, he is justified to claim of Rs.1,00,000/- towards compensation and Rs 10,000/- as cost of  litigation. Hence, the following order.

ORDER

1. Consumer Complaint No.CC/103/2023 is partly allowed.
2. The Opponents are directed to refund Rs.36,409/- to the complainant with interest at the rate of 6% p.a. from 01/04/2023 till its actual realization to the Complainant.
3. The above order shall be complied with within period of thirty days from the date of receipt of copy of this order failing which the amount will carry interest at the rate of 9% per annum from 01/04/2023 till its actual realization.
4. The Opponents are further directed to pay compensation of Rs.1,00,000/- towards mental agony and Rs.10,000/- towards cost of litigation to the Complainant.
5. Copies of this order be sent to the parties free of costs.