The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has granted food business operators (FBOs) an additional four months, until the end of December 2024, to use up their existing pre-printed packaging materials that claim ‘100 per cent fruit juices’ in their packaged products. The initial deadline that was given to the FBOs was 31st August, 2024.
Extension Granted After Stakeholder Consultations:
In June 2024, FSSAI had issued a directive requiring FBOs to immediately stop using claims of ‘100 per cent fruit juices on both advertisements and product labels. The directive was issued amid rising concerns that such claims could be misleading to consumers.
After receiving numerous representations from stakeholders, FSSAI reconsidered the initial deadline. As a result, the deadline for using existing pre-printed packaging materials has now been extended to December 31, 2024.
FSSAI stated in an advisory, “Based on the various representation received from stakeholders, it has been decided to extend the deadline for using pre-printed packaging materials. The new deadline for utilising these materials is now December 31, 2024.” The regulator also clarified that products manufactured before December 31, 2024, can continue to be sold across all market channels until the end of their shelf life.
Initial Directive to Remove Misleading Claims:
The initial directive in June was a response to concerns that several FBOs were wrongly promoting their re-formed fruit juices as ‘100 per cent fruit juices.’ FSSAI had expressed that such practices were not in line with the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018.
“It has come to the attention of FSSAI that several FBOs have been inaccurately marketing various types of reconstituted fruit juices by claiming them to be 100 per cent fruit juices,” the regulator said at the time. Upon further examination, FSSAI found that there was no provision under the existing regulations that allowed for a ‘100%’ claim on reconstituted fruit juices, particularly when water is the major ingredient and the actual fruit content is limited.
Compliance Requirements for FBOs:
FSSAI’s regulations are clear about the standards for fruit juices. FBOs must follow the rules set under sub-regulation 2.3.6 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards & Food Additives) Regulation, 2011. According to this regulation, products falling under this standard must be labelled according to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
“This regulation states that products covered by this standard must be labelled according to the the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020,” FSSAI emphasized. Specifically, if a juice is re-formed from concentrate, the word “reconstituted” must appear next to the juice name on the ingredient list.
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Furthermore, if a product contains added nutritive sweeteners exceeding 15 gm/kg, it must be labelled as ‘sweetened juice.’