NEW DELHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has cracked down on six beverage firms, including Red Bull and PepsiCo India, over misbranding and misleading claims.
The six brands are Red Bull Energy Drink, Pepsico's Adrenaline Rush Energy Drink, Reliance Consumer Products' 'Campa Energy Drink- Gold Boost', Sting Energy Drink, Hell Energy and Coca-Cola-backed Monster Energy.
FSSAI noted that it has not notified any standard for 'Energy Drink' or similar products.
The food regulator said that these brands have marketed using descriptors such as 'energy drink' on product branding and labelling. It further said that the Food Category System under the FSS Regulations is not intended for product naming or labelling purposes.
"Functional or therapeutic claims, including but not limited to 'vitalises body and mind', 'enhancing focus', 'boost energy levels', 'aid in general weakness', or similar conditions, are not permissible for food products under the FSS Act 2006 and the Rules and Regulations made thereunder," the FSSAI said in its social media post.
In the past few weeks, FSSAI has issued notices to several food business operators (FBOs) for misbranding as well as misleading claims and advertisements. It has also issued notices based on consumer complaints.