Flipkart Amazon ecommerce Companies Instructed to Drop Health Energy Drinks Labels Misleading Customers

Many times food brands market their products contrary to their true nature. Food related government agencies declare products whose excessive consumption is dangerous for children as well as adults, sold by companies as healthy. To crack down on this, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recently ordered all e-commerce companies to do accurate labeling of some beverage categories. The authority says India’s food law lacks a clear definition of the term “health drug”. Under current regulations the term “energy drink” is reserved exclusively for carbonated and non-carbonated water-based flavored beverages, which should not be.

TOI quoted an Economic Times report told That FSSAI insisted on refraining from labeling dairy-based, cereals-based, or malt-based beverages as “health drinks” or “energy drinks”. FSSAI believes that this may mislead consumers and calls on e-commerce Food Business Operators (FBOs) to immediately correct any incorrect packaging by removing or separating such beverages from the category of “Health Drink/Energy Drink”. It has been requested.

The report states that FSSAI clarifies that the term “health drink” lacks standardization within the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 and related rules and regulations governing the food industry. In contrast, the use of “energy drinks” is only permitted for products falling within specified criteria.

The objective behind this directive is to increase clarity and transparency in the labeling system and ensure that customers can choose the right product without getting misinformation. We already know that many carbonated and non-carbonated beverage companies market their products as energy or health drinks, while those beverages contain very few ingredients that are used for health or energy purposes.

For some time now, the craze for energy drinks has been increasing rapidly among the youth, due to which cheaper alternatives to expensive drinks like Red Bull or Monster Energy are also being launched in the market. Many types of chemicals and huge amounts of sugar are used in these drinks and the youth are buying them considering them as energy or health drinks. Therefore, it is important for consumers to be aware of correct labeling and make informed decisions regarding their beverage choices.