The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has mandated all Food Business Operators (FBOs) to immediately remove ‘100% fruit juice claims from labels and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juices, according to an official statement.
FSSAI has directed FBOs to remove ‘100% fruit juice’ claims from labels and advertisements.
FBOs must use up all pre-printed packaging materials by September 1.
FBOs must comply with fruit juice standards.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has instructed food business operators to immediately remove ‘100 percent fruit juice’ claims from advertisements and labels on packaged products.
According to an official statement, FSSAI issued a directive mandating all Food Business Operators (FBOs) to remove any ‘100% fruit juices’ claims from the labels and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juices with immediate effect.
All FBOs have also been instructed to exhaust all existing pre-printed packaging materials before 1st September 2024. “FSSAI has noted that several FBOs have inaccurately marketed various reconstituted fruit juices as 100 percent fruit juices,” the statement said.
Upon thorough examination, FSSAI concluded that, according to the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, there is no provision for making a ‘100%’ claim.
“Such claims are misleading, particularly when the major ingredient of the fruit juice is water and the primary ingredient, for which the claim is made, is present only in limited concentrations, or when the fruit juice is reconstituted using water and fruit concentrates or pulp,” FSSAI said.
FBOs have been instructed to comply with 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 states that products covered by this standard must be labelled in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020,” the statement said.
Specifically, in the ingredient list, the word “reconstituted” must be mentioned against the name of the juice that is reconstituted from the concentrate.
“Additionally, if added nutritive sweeteners exceed 15 gm/kg, the product must be labelled as ‘Sweetened juice’,” the regulator said.
FSSAI said it is dedicated to protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety standards across the country.
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