{
  "id": 329671,
  "title": "Bombay HC To Hear Liquor Makers’ Challenge To FSSAI Orders Halting Fresh Stocks Of McDowell’s And Old Monk",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/bombay-hc-to-hear-liquor-makers-challenge-to-fssai-orders-halting",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-08T21:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/bombay-hc-to-hear-liquor-makers-challenge-to-fssai-orders-halting-fresh-stocks-of-mcdowells-and-old-monk"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mumbai, August 8, 2026: United Spirits Ltd and Mohan Meakin Ltd have challenged FSSAI orders that forbid the production and sale of fresh stocks of their IMFL brands McDowell’s No. 1 Celebration Matured Rum and Old Monk. The manufacturers have disputed the regulator’s prohibition after inspecting their facilities and raising objections about labeling, ingredient composition, and flavoring agents.\n\nUnited Spirits lawyer Birendra Saraf argued before a bench led by Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad that the FSSAI’s decision has crippled roughly 30% of the IMFL sector and that the brands have been produced using a consistent method for five decades. The challenge centers on a June 29 prohibition order and a July 27 conditional prohibition order from FSSAI’s Western Regional Office, which permits clearing existing stocks with new labeling marked as “Rum Flavored Spirit”, but bans manufacturing and selling of new stocks.\n\nFSSAI spokesperson Sangeeta Yadav contended that the regulator’s worry is about accurate labeling, claiming the products include unauthorized artificial or nature-identical flavoring and false descriptions that might deceive consumers. The regulator maintains that products containing external rum flavor should be labeled as flavored spirits, not standard rum.\n\nThe court acknowledged that “everything can’t be shut down overnight,” but said it isn’t an expert body to evaluate the product's composition and labeling without hearing from FSSAI. The Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh was directed to represent FSSAI’s instructions in the case. The petitioners also raised concerns about the legal standing of the FSSAI officer to issue prohibition orders, questioning Section 36(3)(b) of the Food Safety and Standards Act’s authority to independently prohibit manufacturing and selling.",
  "summary": "The Bombay High Court has agreed to hear a legal challenge from liquor manufacturers United Spirits Ltd and Mohan Meakin Ltd against Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) orders that have prohibited the manufacture and sale of fresh stocks of their popular Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brands, McDowell’s No. 1 Celebration Matured Rum and Old Monk. The manufacturers argue that the prohibition orders issued after inspections of their manufacturing units have effectively shut down 30% of the IMFL industry, as the products have been manufactured using the same process for decades. The petitioners contend that while FSSAI raised concerns over labelling and product composition, there were no safety issues or public health risks found by the regulator's Food Analyst.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}