Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Tuesday directed all e-commerce food business operators (FBOs) to ensure the appropriate categorisation of the food products being sold on their websites.
In a written communication, the Authority noted instances of licensed “proprietary foods” which are dairy-based, cereal-based, and malt-based beverage mixes being sold on e-commerce websites under the category of health or energy drinks.
“The FSSAI has clarified that the term ‘Health Drink’ is not defined or standardized anywhere under the FSS Act 2006 or rules/regulations made thereunder. Therefore, FSSAI has advised all e-commerce FBOs to promptly rectify this misclassification by removing or de-linking such drinks or beverages from the category of ‘Health Drinks / Energy Drinks’ on their websites and place such products in the appropriate category as provided under the extant law,” the regulator said.
