The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has asked all e-commerce businesses to take off drinks and beverages, including Bournvita, from the category of health drinks on their sites and platformsNotification from FSSAIThe ministry released a notification stating that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, a statutory body constituted under Section 3 of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, had determined that there was no health drink defined under the FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations as submitted by FSSAI and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd following its investigation under Section 14 of the CPCR Act, 2005.Following reports of food products licensed under the category of proprietary food but falling under the closest category of health drink or energetic drink—dairy-based beverage mix, cereal-based beverage mix, or malt-based beverage—being marketed on e-commerce websites, FSSAI took action.FSSAIs StatementAccording to a statement, the FSSAI has advised all e-commerce businesses to act quickly and correct this misclassification. Removal or de-linking of such drinks or beverages from the health drinks/energy drinks category on their websites and placing them in the proper category as specified by current law should be done.Adding on to it, FSSAI stated that proprietary foods are items of food that are not standardized in food safety and standards (food product standards and food additives) regulations and food safety and standards (health supplements, nutraceuticals, food for special dietary use, food for special medical purposes, functional food, and novel food) regulations but use standardized ingredients.The statement further said that the goal of the corrective action is to improve transparency and clarity about the nature and functional qualities of the products so that customers can make informed choices without being presented with misleading details.
