FSSAI Asks Ecommerce Firms To Stop Misuse of Health & Energy Drink Tags

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed all ecommerce companies to avoid using the labels ‘health drink’ or ‘energy drink’ for dairy-based, cereal-based or malt-based beverages. 

According to the food regulatory body, India’s food laws don’t define ‘health drink’, while the label ‘energy drink’ refers to some specific water-based flavoured drinks in both carbonated and non-carbonated categories.

Thus, the FSSAI has cautioned the ecommerce companies on the same note, reported Business Today. 

According to the report, the body has advised all ecommerce Food Business Operators (FBOs) to correct this by removing or delinking such drinks or beverages from the categories of ‘health drinks’ or ‘energy drinks’.

Accroding to FSSAI, the term ‘health drink’ is not defined under the FSS Act 2006 which governs the current food and beverages industry rules and regulations. In fact, the term is only permitted to be used for labeling products like carbonated and non-carbonated water-based flavoured drinks.

“This corrective action aims to enhance clarity and transparency regarding the nature and functional properties of the products, ensuring that consumers can make well-informed choices without encountering misleading information,” the FSSAI notice read. 

India’s D2C and FMCG spaces have seen the emergence of many small and big players in the beverage segment. While big global players including PepsiCo, Coca Cola, General Foods, etc have been existing in the Indian market for years, new startups and other Indian companies like Pioma Industries (Rasna), Coolberg, Jimmy’s Cocktails, Lahori, Raskik, etc have also set footprints in the space.

According to a market study, the Indian energy drink and sports drink market size stood at $4.7 Bn in 2024, and is expected to grow at 5.71% CAGR by 2028.