A detailed clarification released on October 15 reaffirmed that such usage “misleads consumers by way of false, deceptive, ambiguous and erroneous label declarations,” violates the provisions of the FSSA, 2006.
Hyderabad:The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned the use of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS)’ on any food or drink label that does not meet World Health Organisation (WHO) standards — after several years of fighting by Hyderabad-based paediatrician Dr Sivaranjani Santosh against misbranding.
“No food product shall use the term ‘ORS’ as part of its name, trademark,or brand unless it conforms to WHO-recommended formulation standards,” the regulator explained, adding that all previous permissions that allowed Food Business Operators (FBOs) to use ORS in brand names with disclaimers are withdrawn.
A detailed clarification released on October 15 reaffirmed that such usage “misleads consumers by way of false, deceptive, ambiguous and erroneous label declarations,” violates the provisions of the FSSA, 2006.
In 2022, Dr Sivaranjani Santosh filed a public interest litigation before the Telangana High Court exposing companies that sold sweetened fruit beverages as ORS, even though their formulations failed to meet WHO electrolyte standards.
The High Court’s intervention prompted FSSAI’s first restriction in April 2022. However, temporary relaxations followed after industry petitions. With the new order, those relaxations have now been revoked.
The WHO-approved ORS contains 2.6 g sodium chloride, 1.5 g potassium chloride, 2.9 g sodium citrate,and 13.5 g glucose per litre of water.
Reacting to the development, Dr Sivaranjani released a video on her social media saying: “We have won it. I was misled due to a newspaper article but the order is in our favour. No misleading label with ORS can be sold. It was my persistent fight for eight years. No high sugar fluids or drinks can have ORS on its label. I thank all my supporters from children, teachers, and journalists to advocates.”
