Centre asks e-commerce websites to remove Bournvita from ‘health drink’ category: Report

The Narendra Modi government has now asked all the e-commerce websites to remove drinks and beverages from the ‘healthy drinks’ category, resulting in a big setback for Bournvita and other leading brands.

According to a Moneycontrol report, The order by the ministry of commerce and industry has been issued at a time when the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said that there is no health drink defined under the FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations as submitted by FSSAl & Mondelez India.

The notification issued by the ministry cited an NCPCR inquiry under Section 14 of the CPCR Act, 2005, which concluded that “there is no Health Drink defined under FSS Act 2006, Rules and regulations as submitted by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd.”

The commerce ministry notification said that all the e-commerce websites have been advised to remove drink or beverages including Bournvita from ‘health drinks’ category from their respective platforms.

The ministry’s order comes days after the FSSAI asked the e-commerce websites not to include tdairy, cereal, or malt-based beverages under the ‘health drink’ or ‘energy drink’ categories.

The food safety body had said that ‘health drink’ is not defined in the laws. The ‘energy drinks’ happen to be just flavoured water-based drinks as per the laws.

It added that using wrong terms can mislead the consumer, thereby asking the websites to either remove or rectify those advertisements.

NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo in a letter to the ministry, FSSAI, department of consumer affairs of states and UTs had said that drink beverage including Bournvita should not be sold under the ‘health drink’ category.