New Delhi: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has instructed e-commerce companies to remove all drinks and beverages including Bournvita from the category of ‘health drinks’, on their portal and platforms. The ministry issued an advisory to the e-commerce companies for this.
‘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,’ the ministry said in a notification.
The advisory comes on the back of an investigation by the NCPCR that found the Bournvita contains sugar levels, much above the acceptable limits. Earlier, the NCPCR had called upon the to initiate action against the companies that failed to meet safety standards and guidelines and were projecting power supplements as ‘health drinks’.
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Earlier the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked the e-commerce websites not to include dairy, 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.
The controversy over the ‘unhealthy’ nature of Bournvita first arose after a YouTuber in his video slammed the powder supplement and informed that it contained excessive sugar, cocoa solids and harmful colourants that could lead to serious health hazards in children, including cancer. He later took down the video after the firm issued a legal notice against him saying his claims are misleading.
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