To protect consumer interests and ensure transparency in labelling, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued an important directive to all e-commerce platforms regarding the accurate classification of beverages.
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The Reason Behind the Directive
The FSSAI’s move stems from a crucial observation: the absence of a clear definition for the term “health drink” within the country’s food laws. This void has led to potential misinterpretations and mislabeling practices.
The regulatory authority emphasized that beverages should not be labelled as “health drinks” or “energy drinks” unless they fall under the licensed category of “proprietary food.” Such foods are not standardized in food safety and standards regulations but employ standardized ingredients.
Addressing Misclassification.
FSSAI is observing corrupt practices where dairy-based drink mixes cereal drink mixes or malt-based beverages are wrongly advertized as “health drinks” or “energy drinks” on e-commerce websites.
To address the error of placing sweetened beverages into the ‘Health Drinks/Energy Drinks’ category on their sites, e-commerce platforms have been mandated to remove or, at least, separate these from the category on their online presence. They should be in line with the new laws as they do not fall into the already existing regulations.
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Ensuring Consumer Clarity
The purpose of this corrective action is to increase clarity and transparency regarding the nature and functional properties of the products. By doing so, consumers can make well-informed choices without facing misleading information. The Directive also clarifies the definition of “proprietary foods”, emphasizing that they are not standardized in food safety regulations but use standardized ingredients
