Center orders e-commerce companies to remove Bournvita from health drink category – Check order
Government has ordered e-commerce platforms to remove all beverages and drinks including Bournvita from the health category.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has asked all e-commerce companies to remove all drinks and beverages, including Bournvita, from the category of ‘health drinks’ from their platforms.
“National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, a statutory body constituted under section (3) of the commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005 after its inquiry under Section 14 of CPCR Act, 2005, concluded that there is no “Health Drink defined under FSS Act 2006, Rules and regulations as submitted by FSSAI and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd,” the ministry said a notification.
This comes after the FSSAI, on April 2, asked all e-commerce companies to ensure appropriate categorization of food products sold on their websites.
A year ago, Bournvita, had entered into a controversy because of its high content of sugar levels. A few days later, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asked the Mondelez India-owned brand to remove all “misleading” commercials claiming of several health benefits with the consumption of the drink, reported Economic Times, referring to PTI. The action by the child rights body came after a video threw light upon the high sugar content in the beverage, which was earlier often labelled as “health drink” in several ads.
In a notice to Bournvita, the NCPCR also asked the confectionary major to send a detailed explanation or report in the matter. The action by NCPCR came after it received a complaint alleging that Bournvita promotes itself as a health drink and make claims like improving children’s growth and development regardless of its high percentage of sugar and other ingredients that may impact children’s health.
“Proprietary foods are items of food that are not standardised in food safety and standards (food product standards and food additives) regulations and food safety and standards (health supplements, nutraceuticals, food for special dietary use, food for special medical purpose, functional food, and novel food) regulations, but use standardised ingredients,” it added.
The corrective action aims to enhance clarity and transparency regarding the nature and functional properties of the products, and ensuring that consumers can make well-informed choices without encountering misleading information, the statement further said.
