In a significant move to protect public health, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has mandated that all Food Business Operators (FBOs) immediately remove any claims of ‘100% fruit juice’ from the labels and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juices. This directive comes after FSSAI identified misleading marketing practices where reconstituted fruit juices were inaccurately advertised as being purely fruit-based.
The directive specifies that FBOs must exhaust all existing pre-printed packaging materials by September 1. “It has come to the attention of FSSAI that several FBOs have been inaccurately marketing various types of reconstituted fruit juices by claiming them to be 100 per cent fruit juices,” the authority stated.
Upon investigation, FSSAI concluded that under the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, there is no provision for making a ‘100%’ claim on reconstituted juices. Such claims were found to be misleading, particularly when the major ingredient is water, and the fruit component is present in limited quantities, or when the juice is reconstituted using water and fruit concentrates or pulp.
FBOs are required to adhere to the standards for fruit juices as specified under sub-regulation 2.3.6 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards & Food Additives) Regulation, 2011. This regulation mandates that products must be labelled in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020. Specifically, the ingredient list must clearly indicate the word “reconstituted” against the name of any juice made from concentrate.
Additionally, if nutritive sweeteners are added more than 15 gm/kg, the product must be labelled as ‘Sweetened juice’, ensuring transparency for consumers.
FSSAI emphasized its commitment to protecting and promoting public health through rigorous regulation and supervision of food safety standards across the nation. This initiative aims to ensure that consumers are not misled by inaccurate claims and can make informed decisions about the products they consume.
