E-Commerce Firms Directed to Remove “Bournvita” from Health Drinks Category

New Delhi: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has directed all e-commerce companies to remove all drinks and beverages, including Bournvita, from the category of ‘health drinks’ from their sites and platforms, reported India Today.

In a notification regarding it, the ministry stated, “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 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 FSSAI and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd.”

On April 2, the FSSAI asked all e-commerce companies to ensure appropriate categorisation of food products sold on their websites.

The FSSAI’s response came after it noted instances of food products licensed under ‘proprietary food’ with the nearest category – Dairy Based Beverage Mix, Cereal Based Beverage Mix, Malt Based Beverage – being sold on e-commerce websites under the category ‘health drink’ or ‘energy drink’.

FSSAI has clarified that the term ‘health drink’ is not defined or standardised anywhere under the FSS Act 2006 or the rules and regulations made there under.

“Proprietary foods are items of food that are not standardised 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 purpose, functional food, and novel food) regulations, but use standardised ingredients,” it added.