FSSAI orders removal of misleading ORS beverages from retail and eCommerce platforms

According to news reports, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed state and Union Territory authorities to remove fruit-based beverages, ready-to-serve drinks, energy drinks, electrolyte beverages and similar products marketed using the term ORS from retail shelves and online marketplaces.

In its latest directive dated 19 November, the regulator noted that several manufacturers continue to use ORS in product or brand names, despite explicit instructions issued in October prohibiting such labelling. FSSAI said the term ORS is reserved exclusively for World Health Organisation (WHO)-recommended Oral Rehydration Salts formulations, which are classified as drug products under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

State food safety commissioners have been instructed to conduct immediate inspections across offline and online platforms, identify non-compliant products, ensure their withdrawal from sale, and initiate regulatory action. Officials have also been asked to submit detailed reports on violations and enforcement measures.

FSSAI’s October order had also withdrawn earlier circulars issued in July 2022 and February 2024, which had allowed limited use of the term ‘ORS’ on food labels subject to a mandatory disclaimer stating that the product was not a WHO-recommended ORS formula.

The latest enforcement move follows an eight-year effort led by Hyderabad-based paediatrician Dr Sivaranjani Santosh, who had raised concerns over the marketing of sugar-laden drinks under misleading ORS-like names.

FSSAI further clarified that its directive applies only to such misleading beverages and does not restrict the manufacture or sale of genuine WHO-approved ORS, which continues to be regulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.