New Delhi: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has asked e-commerce platforms to remove all drinks and beverages, including Bournvita, from the ‘healthy drinks’ category, according to a report in the Moneycontrol.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said that there is no “health drink defined under the FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations as submitted by FSSAl & Mondelez India”.
The Moneycontrol reported that a notification, issued by the ministry on April 10, stated: “NCPCR, a statutory body constituted under Section (3) of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005 after its inquiry under Section 14 of CPCR Act, 2005, concluded that there is no health drink defined under FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations as submitted by FSSAl and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd.”
The notification further stated that “all e-commerce companies/ portals are hereby advised to remove drink/ beverages, including Bournvita from the category of ‘health drinks’ from their sites/platforms.”
Earlier this month, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directed e-commerce platforms to ensure the proper categorisation of food products sold on their websites. The government body instructed these companies not to put dairy, cereal, or malt-based beverages under the ‘health drink’ or ‘energy drink’ categories, according to the Moneycontrol report.
The FSSAI said that the term ‘health drink’ lacks definition within the food laws in India, while ‘energy drinks’ are just flavoured water-based beverages under these laws. Additionally, the FSSAI emphasised that the misuse of terminology could mislead consumers and consequently instructed websites to either remove or correct the advertisements.
