Govt Bars Sale Of Beverages Including Bournvita As Healthy Drinks On E-Commerce Portals

The move comes after the NCPCR said that it found in its enquiry that there is no ‘health drink defined under the FSS Act 2006, riules and regulations as submitted by FSSAI & Mondelez India’

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry called on all e-commerce firms/platforms to remove their beverage offerings from the ‘healthy drinks’ category. The decision will be a setback for brands such as Bournvita which are famous for marketing their products as healthy. 

The move comes after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said that it found in its enquiry that there is no ‘health drink defined under the FSS Act 2006, riules and regulations as submitted by FSSAI & Mondelez India’. As such, the ministry instructed the e-commerce platforms via a notification issued on April 10, 2024, and directed them to remove all beverages from the ‘healthy drinks’ category.

The notification further 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."

Earlier this month, the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) notified that e-commerce websites should avoid adding their dairy, cereal, or malt-based beverages under the ‘health drink’ or ‘energy drink’ categories. The authority explained that the food laws of India don’t define a ‘health drink’, while ‘energy drinks’ are defined as flavoured water-based drinks according to the law. 

The FSSAI cautioned against using the incorrect terms as this could mislead the consumers and asked the websites to either correct or remove their ads. 

Notably, Priyank Kanoongo, NCPCR chief, urged the Ministry of Commerce, FSSAI, and the Department of Consumer Affairs of several state and UT authorities to stop the sale of beverages such as Bournvita under the ‘health drink’ category.