‘Remove Bournvita from 'health drinks' category’: Govt directs e-commerce firms

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We have all grown up sipping on chocolatey ‘health drinks' daily. Mothers and grandmothers would be relieved watching us gulp down a glass of milk, even if it meant adding one to two spoons of chocolate powder. Little did we know, these ‘health drinks' would no longer be considered healthy. Recently, the government ordered e-commerce firms to remove Bournvita and other similar beverages from the ‘health drink' category.

In a statement, The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said that the term ‘‘health drink' is not defined under the FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations as submitted by FSSAl and Mondelez Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd.

Following this, The Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a letter to e-commerce platforms asking them to remove all drinks and beverages, including Bournvita, from the ‘healthy drinks' category

In a notification dated April 10, the ministry stated that, the "National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory body constituted under Section (3) of the Commission of Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005 after its inquiry under Section 14 of CRPC Act 2005 concluded that there is no 'health drink' defined under FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations submitted by FSSAI and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd."

Earlier this month, on April 2, food safety standards regulator FSSAI had also asked all e-commerce food business operators (FBOs) to appropriately categorise food products sold on their websites. In its instruction, the government body stated that the companies must not put dairy, cereal, or malt-based beverages under the ‘health drink' or ‘energy drink' categories.

Clarifying this decision, the FSSAI mentioned that the term ‘health drink' is not defined within the food laws in India, while ‘energy drinks' are merely water-based flavoured beverages. Additionally, the body also stressed that the incorrect use of terminology could mislead customers and thus instructed e-commerce websites to either remove or correct the advertisements for overall consumer safety.

Bournvita has been in the news for its health aspect for over a year now, especially after influencer Revant Himatsingka posted a video on his Instagram account. In the video, he spoke large about the ingredients used to make this drink highlighting the high sugar content in the product.

Following this, Mondelez India which owns Bournvita sent a legal notice to Himatsingka demanding him to delete the video and issue an official apology, which he did.

With inputs from Agencies.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: ‘Longer the life of a food product, the sooner your expiry date: Revant Himatsingka aka Food Pharmer

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