Indian Food Safety Authority to Regulate Energy Drinks
After two years of deliberation, the Food Safety and Standards Authority
of India (FSSAI) has reportedly agreed to issue draft regulations that would
require energy drink manufacturers to rebrand their products as “caffeinated
beverages.” Based on the findings of an expert panel convened to study
caffeine and energy drink consumption in India, the draft regulations would
apparently set an upper caffeine limit of 320 milligrams per liter or 320 parts
per million (ppm) in caffeinated beverages, as well as prohibit any nutritive
claims and the use of the word “energy” as a descriptor. FSSAI has also
proposed that all energy drinks bear safety labels warning that such products
(i) are “not recommended for children, pregnant or lactating women, persons
sensitive to caffeine and sportspersons,” (ii) should not be consumed in excess
of two cans per day, and (iii) contain a “high caffeine content.”
“We had been considering the standards for some time now. These drinks will have to put the label defining the limit and the warnings. The aim was to regulate the limit. The draft standards have now been sent to the health ministry for their notification,” FSSAI Chair Sh. K. Chandramouli was quoted as saying. See The Daily Mail, June 24, 2012; Decan Chronicle, June 29, 2012.
