The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a directive to all Food Business Operators (FBOs) to cease the use of ‘100% fruit juices’ claims on labels and advertisements for reconstituted fruit juices.

What Happened: FSSAI’s order requires FBOs to eliminate any ‘100% fruit juice’ claims from their reconstituted fruit juice products. The authority has also instructed these operators to exhaust all existing pre-printed packaging materials before September 1, 2024.

The decision by FSSAI was prompted by the observation of several FBOs inaccurately marketing reconstituted fruit juices as ‘100% fruit juices’. Upon thorough investigation, FSSAI determined that the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, does not allow for a ‘100% claim’.

See Also: Ola Electric Set To Cut Up To 500 Jobs As Bhavish Aggarwal’s IPO-Bound Firm Puts Profitability In Front Seat

The authority highlighted that such claims are misleading, particularly when the primary ingredient of the fruit juice is water and the main 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.

In the ingredient list, the term “reconstituted” must be stated against the name of the juice that is reconstituted from the concentrate. Furthermore, if added nutritive sweeteners exceed 15 gm/kg, the product must be labelled as ‘Sweetened juice’.

Read Next: Lenskart Secures Around ₹1,663 Cr Funding From Temasek And Fidelity