The Associated Alcohols & Breweries Ltd, in a BSE filing, said it has approached the High Court against a directive from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that prohibits the sale of one of its Whiskey and Rum brands. It noted that the FSSAI notice is an over-declaration of artificial flavours, being in contravention of its regulations.
“As advised by the legal counsel that the declaration on the labels in our products under question are in line with long-standing practices across the industry and in accordance of the provisions of the law as applicable and the action of FSSAI in the matter is unjustified and accordingly we are approaching Hon’ble High Court for immediate intervention in the matter,” the company said in a BSE filing.
Industry bodies back company’s stand
Noting that this is a pan-India action initiated by the FSSAI on a pan-India level, the company said that industry bodies, including Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) and International Spirits & Wines Association of India (ISWAI), have raised this issue with the FSSAI Authorities, stating that this practice is a long-standing industry practice and established IMFL nomenclature. The industry bodies have also told the food safety authority that the use of permitted flavouring substances declared in the ingredient statement is in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2020.
