The Whole Truth has agreed to change the “No added sugar” label on its products to “Sweetened with dates”. This change comes after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) sent a show-cause notice to the clean-label brand, following a dispute initiated by rival chocolate brand Paul & Mike.
According to an Economic Times report, Paul & Mike filed complaints before the FSSAI in 2024, arguing that The Whole Truth was using date powder to sweeten products while claiming that they had no added sugar.
The co-founder and CEO of The Whole Truth has now shared a clarification around its “no added sugar” chocolate labelling.
The Whole Truth CEO’s clarification
In a LinkedIn video shared yesterday, Shashank Mehta claimed that the confusion arose because of the definition of ‘added sugar’. He said that the ingredients of the chocolate remain unchanged and it still contains 71% cocoa with 29% dates.
“Just two ingredients, declared in big, bold font right up front with their exact ingredient percentages, so that you know exactly what you're putting inside your body,” he said.
Mehta then explained that The Whole Truth chocolates are sweetened with dates. To sweeten the chocolates, the brand uses date powder rather than date syrup. This, according to Mehta, retains the fibrous benefits of eating whole dates, and has a lower glycemic index than sugar.
{{/usCountry}}Mehta then explained that The Whole Truth chocolates are sweetened with dates. To sweeten the chocolates, the brand uses date powder rather than date syrup. This, according to Mehta, retains the fibrous benefits of eating whole dates, and has a lower glycemic index than sugar.
{{/usCountry}}However, he admitted that there is “ambiguity” in whether date powder can be treated as sugar, which is why The Whole Truth had agreed to replace “No added sugar” with “Sweetened with dates” on its packaging.
Date powder vs date syrup vs sugar
In the video, Shashank Mehta explained that there are two ways to sweeten products with dates. The first way — turning dates into a paste or a syrup — loses its fiber. Therefore, the clean food brand prefers using date powder instead.
“How do you get a smooth chocolate with something as fibrous as dates? There are two ways. You can turn the dates into a paste or boil it into a syrup and extract all its sugars, in which case what you're left with is mostly sugar. The fiber and the micronutrients of the dates are largely gone,” he said.
“But we do not do that. We chop the dates, dehydrate them, and grind them into a powder. That's it. No date paste or syrup or extraction. A lot of the fiber stays intact,” he said.
Mehta claimed that testing the date powder revealed it has a glycemic index of 43, compared to the glycemic index of sugar which is 65.
“We got our date powder tested. It has a glycemic index, which is the measure of how fast any food raises your blood sugar, of 43. That is close to the GI of boiled carrots and apples. Sugar has a GI of 65. That's why we believe that our date powder does not behave like added sugar,” he said.
Admitting a ‘mistake’
Mehta then acknowledged that his company had made a mistake in not updating the label immediately, while also admitting the ambiguity surrounding date powder as an ingredient.
“There is ambiguity about how to treat this ingredient, and hence, we've been asked to say sweetened with dates here instead of no added sugar. And hey, we've complied.
“Now yes, we did get delayed in implementing this change. That is our mistake. But please know that this is all about the labeling change. Nothing changes in your product or in our commitment to always telling you the whole truth. I hope that clarifies,” said the CEO of The Whole Truth, which manufactures a range of products including protein powders, protein bars, chocolates, peanut butter etc.