In a huge blow to fitness drink brands, the Central Government instructed all the e-commerce sites to remove all the so-called drinks and beverages, including the well-known milk supplement Bournvita, from the ‘healthy drinks’ category.
The order was issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry following an inquiry conducted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which concluded that there is no health drink defined under the FSS Act 2006.
“National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory body constituted under Section (3) of the Commission of Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005 after its inquiry under Section 14 of CRPC Act 2005 concluded that there is no ‘health drink’ defined under FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations submitted by FSSAI and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd,” the ministry said in a notification, dated April 10.
The investigation also found that Bournvita contains sugar levels, much above the acceptable limits.
Notably, as per the regulatory body, ‘health drink’ has not been defined in the country’s food laws and to project something under the same violates the rules.
The FSSAI, earlier this month, also instructed e-commerce portals against labelling diary-based or malt-based beverages as ‘health drinks’.
Earlier, the NCPCR had called upon the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to initiate action against the companies that failed to meet safety standards and guidelines and were projecting power supplements as ‘health drinks’.
(With IANS inputs)
Comments
0 comment