DigitEye India Fact Checkers
A message is being shared on WhatsApp that shows the screenshot of an alleged Cadbury website. It claims that Cadbury products that are sold in India contain beef.
The screenshot in the message reads,
“Please note, if any of our products contain gelatine in the ingredients, the gelatine we use is halal certified and derived from beef.
The listed products represent the equivalent “mini” variants found in CADBURY FAVOURITES variety packs.”
The viral message claims that products sold by the chocolate giant in India contain gelatine derived from beef. The message adds that Cadbury has finally accepted that they use beef in their Indian products.
Digiteye India received a fact check request to verify the claims made in this viral message.
FACT CHECK
The Digiteye India team used keywords to verify if the website shown in the message is legitimate or photoshopped. We used Google and found out that these words were used on the Cadbury Australia website. The Australian website read,
“Please note, if any of our Australian products contain gelatine in the ingredients, the gelatine we use is halal certified and derived from beef.
The listed products represent the equivalent “mini” variants found in CADBURY FAVOURITES variety packs.”
The word “Australian products” was removed from the picture of the website that was attached to the viral message. Additionally, the image also showed two Cadbury products out of which one is not available in India.
We checked to see what the Mondelez India Foods Private Limited (formerly Cadbury India) website says. The website has no mention of beef or any beef-derived ingredients used in its products. In order to find more, we checked the social media handles of Cadbury India to gain more insights into this issue.
We found multiple tweets dating back to 2021 where this viral message was shared with the same image and claims. However, in one of those tweets, Cadbury India had replied. In their reply, they said, “The screenshot shared in the Tweet is not related to Mondelez products manufactured in India. All the products manufactured and sold in India are 100% vegetarian. The green dot on the wrapper signifies that.”
Hi Madhu, the screenshot shared in the Tweet is not related to Mondelez products manufactured in India. All the products manufactured and sold in India are 100% vegetarian. The green dot on the wrapper signifies that. -1/n
— Cadbury Dairy Milk (@DairyMilkIn) July 18, 2021
According to the rules laid down by the Food Safety And Standards (Labelling And Display) Regulations, 2020, a green dot on food packaging indicates vegetarian food. The rule states that ” Every package of Vegetarian Food containing ingredients including food additives, processing aids of plant origin shall bear a declaration to this effect by a symbol and colour code as stipulated below. The symbol shall consist of a green colour-filled circle inside a square with a green outline having a diameter not less than the minimum size specified in the Table mentioned in Regulation 5.”
In another tweet, Cadbury issued a clarification. They said, “As you can well imagine, negative posts like these, damages consumer confidence in our well-respected and loved brands. We request our consumers to please verify facts related to our products before sharing them further. Hope we have clarified!”
— Cadbury Dairy Milk (@DairyMilkIn) July 18, 2021
The claims made in the message are false.
CLAIM: Cadbury India products contain gelatine that has been derived from beef.
CONCLUSION: None of the products sold by Cadbury India contain beef or any beef-derived ingredient. All products that have been manufactured and sold in India are 100% vegetarian.
RATING: Misrepresentation — 
