Old Monk can’t be sold as rum, FSSAI tells Bombay High Court, as company submits revised labels

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has instructed the Bombay High Court that Old Monk cannot be marketed as rum due to the product being made with neutral spirit and rum flavouring, rather than being aged rum. The regulator's primary objection is not about the labeling, but the nature of the product itself.

Old Monk has submitted revised labels to the court, and FSSAI has requested additional time to review and approve them. The matter is set to be heard again on September 11. The dispute arose from FSSAI's laboratory tests, which detected artificial or nature-identical flavouring substances in the product, potentially masking its natural characteristics.

The regulator argues that adding rum flavor to rum or whisky flavor to whisky misrepresents these standardized products, as per the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018.

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