Background of the Dahi Thayir Controversy

The controversy was sparked when the FSSAI issued a directive in March 2022. The directive instructed milk cooperatives and private dairies in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to use the term “Dahi,” the Hindi equivalent for curd, along with the prevalent regional names in brackets before August 2022.

• The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Limited, marketing its dairy products under the brand name Aavin, refused to use the term “Dahi” and has stated that it will only use the Tamil term “Thayir.”
• The January notification was aimed to replace the name “Fermented Milk” with designations “Dahi” and “Yoghurt” while allowing the use of any other designation (prevalent regional common name) with the term “dahi” in brackets on the label.

FSSAI's Revised Directive:

• After facing criticism, the FSSAI amended its previous directive issued in January. As per the revised directive, Food Business Operators (FBOs) are now allowed to use the term “Curd” along with any other prevalent regional common name in brackets on the label.
• However, the revision has stirred concerns among certain political leaders who believe that the use of Hindi is an attempt to impose it on non-Hindi speaking states. Many southern state political leaders called the January notification an attempt to “impose Hindi.”