The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued directives to all e-commerce platforms, urging them to cease labelling dairy-based, cereal-based, or malt-based beverages as ‘health drinks’ or ‘energy drinks’. The FSSAI emphasized the lack of clear definitions for these terms under Indian food laws, highlighting that ‘energy drinks’ specifically refer to certain flavoured water beverages.
The regulatory body stated that the use of misleading terms could potentially misinform consumers. Consequently, all e-commerce Food Business Operators (FBOs) have been advised to promptly rectify this misclassification by removing or delinking such beverages from the category of ‘Health Drinks and Energy Drinks’.
FSSAI clarified that neither the term ‘Health Drink’ nor ‘Energy Drink’ is standardized or defined under the FSS Act 2006 or its accompanying rules and regulations. The term ‘Energy Drinks’ is permitted solely for carbonated and non-carbonated water-based flavored drinks.
This corrective action by FSSAI aims to enhance clarity and transparency regarding the nature and functional properties of products, ensuring that consumers can make well-informed choices without encountering misleading information.
Also, concerns are mounting over the soaring sales of energy drinks, particularly among youngsters. Companies such as PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and Hell are selling energy drinks at a fraction of the price of global leaders like Red Bull and Monster, leading to a massification of consumption, even at grocery stores. Sales of energy drinks are reportedly growing by 50–55% annually, prompting studies to explore potential health impacts from excessive consumption.