Energy drinks in India will have to strip off their “energy” tag and instead be renamed as “caffeinated beverage”. According to new standards being laid down by the Food Safety and Standards of India (FSSAI), such beverages must also carry a safety warning for consumers stating that such drinks are not recommended for “children, pregnant or lactating women, persons sensitive to caffeine and sportspersons” as well as “no more than two cans to be consumed per day”.
FSSAI decided to tighten rules in the energy-drink sector after health concerns related to the high caffeine content of non-alchoholic, caffeinated drinks were raised almost two years ago. At their recent meeting, the FSSAI finalised the new standards for such drinks.
The new draft standards also say that “no nutrition information, including vitamin and nutritive claims, should be given on the label”.
India’s food safety watchdog has said that the warnings should be displayed in principle display panel in bold with a “bigger” font.
Under the new standards, FSSAI has also set the upper limit for caffeine in the caffeinated beverage at 320 ppm (parts per million). At present, there are no defined limits for caffeine content in such drinks.
“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,” said K. Chandramouli, chairperson, FSSAI.