FSSAI Bans Sale of Some Liquor Brands Over Flavouring Concerns
India’s food safety regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has banned the sale of certain whisky and rum products manufactured by Diageo India, Inbrew Beverages, and Mohan Rocky Springwater. The regulator said inspections found these products contained artificial or nature-identical flavouring substances instead of relying on proper ageing and natural ingredients to develop their taste and aroma.
According to the FSSAI, adding whisky flavour to whisky or rum flavour to rum is not an internationally accepted manufacturing practice and could allow manufacturers to bypass traditional maturation processes. The affected products include popular brands such as Royal Challenge Whisky, Antiquity Blue Whisky, Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky, Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum, and select variants of Old Monk produced at specific facilities.
The companies have not yet responded publicly to the regulator’s action. Industry executives said they believe the use of such flavouring complies with existing Indian regulations, while the scope of the ban remains unclear. The move comes as the FSSAI increases scrutiny of the food and beverage sector, following recent action against the marketing of high-caffeine drinks as “energy drinks.”
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