FSSAI Directs Food Business Operators to Remove '100% Fruit Juice' Claim From Labels and Ads

New Delhi, June 6, 2024: Food business operators (FBOs) can’t claim anymore that their reconstituted fruit juices are 100% fruit juices after a recent directive by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). While issuing the statement, the food regulatory authority has instructed food business operators to remove any claim of 100% fruit juice from their advertisements and packaging labels with immediate effect.

Furthermore, all the FBOs also need to exhaust all existing pre-printed packaging materials before September 1, 2024.

This directive from the FSSAI has come after it noticed that various brands in food operating business have been inaccurately marketing and promoting their reconstituted juices as 100% fruit juices.  

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"It has come to the attention of FSSAI that several FBOs have been inaccurately marketing various types of reconstituted fruit juices by claiming them to be 100% fruit juices. Upon thorough examination, FSSAI has concluded that, according to the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, there is no provision for making a ‘100%’ claim," the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was quoted.

The statement further reads, "Such claims are misleading, particularly under conditions where the major ingredient of the fruit juice is water and the primary ingredient, for which the claim is made, is present only in limited concentrations, or when the fruit juice is reconstituted using water and fruit concentrates or pulp.

In addition, the FSSAI has reminded FBOs to comply with the standards for fruit juices as specified under sub-regulation 2.3.6 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards & Food Additives) Regulation, 2011.

According to the regulation, products covered by this standard have to be mandatorily labelled in line with the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020. Not only this, but, in the ingredient list, the word “reconstituted” has to be mentioned against the name of the juice that is reconstituted from the concentrate. Further, if added nutritive sweeteners go beyond the limit of 15 gm/kg, the product has to be labelled as ‘Sweetened juice’.

This move by the FSAAI has come a month after the food regulator has started an enquiry into Nestle India’s alleged use of high sugar content in baby food products in the low income countries including India.