From now on manufacturers of caffeinated drinks may have to carry a warning label for consumers --- ''not recommended for children, pregnant or lactating women, persons sensitive to caffeine.”
The FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) has made it mandatory to display the above-mentioned warning in the principle display panel of the products, in bold with a bigger font so that it does not go unnoticed.
The apex regulatory body has decided to introduce this norm following recommendations that were a part of suggestions made by its officials and technical experts at a recently held meeting.
This was confirmed to F&B News in a chat over telephone by one of the officials from the apex regulatory body. According to the official, the standards were ready and would be soon put up for comments from the public and others.
The official stressed that the new norm would make it mandatory that the warning should specify that the beverage was not for everyone and mention the level of caffeine as an overdose of caffeine was harmful for health and was not a nutritious option.
The stress would be on positioning of the message and prominence of font size and also to make all important messages bilingual – both English and Hindi – as far as possible.
The official confirmed the reports that brands like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Thums Up were all gearing up to adhere to the new norms and flash a statutory warning on the label stating that they were not meant for some sections of the population.
Meanwhile, the US, which is the biggest market for carbonated beverages and caffeinated energy drinks, only requires these drinks to include caffeine in the list of ingredients on the pack and is yet to come up with stringent norms in this regard. However, some manufacturers have been voluntarily declaring it on the packs when their product contains high levels of caffeine.
In India, a movement against unusually high levels of caffeine in energy drinks has built up over the years. In this regard, a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) sometime back was an eye-opener. A study by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) at Hyderabad confirmed CSE’s findings.
While manufacturers of energy drinks like Red Bull have been seeking maximum limit for caffeine content at 320 ppm, the health ministry has been toying with the idea of making it at par with carbonated beverages whose limit is fixed at 145 ppm. However, it is still not clear what will be the maximum permissible limit for all these beverages as per the new norms.
