Beverage cos in a tizzy as ‘energy’ deadline looms
New Delhi: Red Bull challenged the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) ban on labeling its products as "energy" drinks by approaching the Delhi High Court on Monday. Faced with a 90-day deadline ending on September 30, Reliance introduced Campa Xtra with the same formulation but without using the term "energy." Red Bull claimed FSSAI did not issue a show-cause notice or provide a hearing before passing the order.
The court requested FSSAI to respond by Tuesday. Red Bull products continued to be sold in stores and online platforms until late Monday. PepsiCo, which removed the term "energy" from its Sting drink last month, is in the process of withdrawing existing stocks. FSSAI has reversed its previously permitting energy drinks as permissible products.
Despite having ready cans with the "energy drinks" label, companies are still hopeful for more time for the change as transitioning labels to new standards requires about a year, considering millions of packs already in the market. Red Bull is the only company seeking legal action over this issue. The Indian Beverage Association, including PepsiCo, Reliance, and Red Bull, has not yet taken a legal stance on the matter.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
