Reconstitution rejections: India food safety authority bans ‘misleading’ fruit juice claims

16-Sep-2024 - Last updated on 16-Sep-2024 at 23:58 GMT

FSSAI says a 100% claim can be misleading, especially where the major ingredient of the beverage is water and the fruit is present only in limited amounts. © Getty Images

India’s food safety authority has announced regulations banning local beverage companies from labelling reconstituted fruit juices as ‘100% fruit juice’ to avoid public confusion.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a directive mandating all food business operators to remove any claim of ‘100% fruit juices’ from the labels and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juices.

Business owners are to comply immediately and stop using all relevant packaging and marketing material by 31 December 2024. However, products manufactured before this date are allowed to be sold until the end of their shelf life.

According to the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations of 2018, a ‘100%’ claim cannot be made due to its misleading nature.

“Such claims are misleading, particularly under conditions where the major ingredient of the fruit juice is water and the primary ingredient, for which the claim is made, is present only in limited concentrations, or when the fruit juice is reconstituted using water and fruit concentrates or pulp,” said Inoshi Sharma, FSSAI executive director of Regulatory Compliance, via a formal statement.

Fruit juices must comply with the standards set out under sub-regulation 2.3.6 of Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards & Food Additives) Regulation 2011, which states products covered by this Standard shall be labelled in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.

“In the ingredient list, the word ‘reconstituted’ shall be mentioned against the name of the juice, which is reconstituted from the concentrate. The product shall be labelled as ‘sweetened juice’ if the added nutritive sweeteners are in excess of 15g/kg,” said Sharma.

The FSSAI also issued another statement on 31 July to clarify its position on selling and marketing fruit juices with ‘non-standardised ingredients’.

“It has come to the notice of FSSAI that a few manufacturers are adding non-standardised ingredients such as de-ionised apple juice concentrate in their fruit juices which is not a permitted ingredient under local regulations,” she added.

De-ionised apple juice concentrate is an alternative sweetener that can extend product shelf life and enables the possible label claim of ‘100% natural fruit sugars’.

“Food business operators are directed to obtain approval of such ‘non specified food / ingredients’ under the FSS (Approval for Non-Specific Food and Food Ingredients) Regulation of 2017,” said Sharma.

Businesses have also been instructed to ensure that the claims made on the labels and advertisements comply with labelling requirements.

This is not the first time FSSAI has made a move against misleading label claims for beverages. Earlier in March, the authority singled out manufacturers of dairy-based beverage mixes and malt-based beverages, who categorised their products on e-commerce as a ‘health drink’ or ‘energy drink’.

Rakesh Kumar, FSSAI director of the Regulatory Compliance Division, instructed businesses to remove or re-categorise their products accordingly on their websites.

He pointed out that the term ‘energy drink’ refers to water-based flavoured drinks, and that ‘health drink’ is not defined anywhere under the FSS Act 2006.

“This action will enhance clarity and transparency regarding the nature and functional properties of the products, allowing consumers to make informed choices without any misleading information,” said Kumar.