New Delhi:

Almost a year after an influencer raised concerns about the sugar content in Bournevita and four months after it was reduced, the Center has asked e-commerce companies to sell the brand and all other drinks and beverages. Remove from ‘Health Drink’ category.

In its advisory, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has pointed out that the term ‘health drink’ is not defined under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 or the rules promulgated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Is. Mondelez – which owns Bournvita, Cadbury and many other major brands.

“The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), is a statutory body constituted under section (3) of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, which After its investigation under Section 14 of the RPC Act 2005 concluded that any ‘health drink’ under the FSS Act 2006, FSSAI and the regulations promulgated by Mondelez India Food Pvt. has not been defined,” news agency IANS quoted a notification issued by the ministry on Wednesday.

In April last year, the NCPCR asked BourneVita to immediately withdraw all “misleading” advertisements, packaging and labels, including a video by influencer Revant Hamatsingka, aka Food Farmer, in which the drink It was highlighted for its high sugar content and drew widespread criticism.

Mr Hamatsingka had accused Cadbury of making false claims about Bournevita’s health benefits and “misrepresenting” its “nutritional value”.

“They have 50 grams of sugar per 100 grams. Basically, a whole half of that bag is just sugar,” he said.

Eight months later, in December last year, Mondelez said it had reduced the amount of added sugar by 14.4% – from 37.4g of added sugar per 100g to 32.2g per 100g.

Speaking to NDTV after Mondelez’s announcement, the influencer said the decision was a big win for nutrition education in India.

“This is a huge win. I know 15% may not sound like much (a reduction), but for a multinational corporation to do that is quite surprising. I hope it causes a chain reaction. Banega, and other companies will follow suit and try. Millions of parents are now reading labels for the first time and people are eating a little more consciously, so it’s a huge win overall.

The ministry’s notification on Wednesday came after an NCPCR investigation found that the sugar level in Bourne Vita was much higher than the acceptable limit. The child rights organization had also asked the FSSAI to take action against companies labeling supplements as ‘health drinks’ and failing to meet the guidelines.

The body has said that ‘health drink’ is not defined under the FSS Act and labeling any drink is a violation of the rules.

‘Below recommended sugar limit’

Mondelez claims that the sugar in Bournevita is well below the recommended daily sugar limit for children.

In an earlier statement, the company said, Born Vita has enjoyed the love and trust of consumers for more than seven decades. Bourne Vita contains Vitamins A, C, D, Iron, Zinc, Copper and Selenium which help boost immunity. These have been part of our formation for many years. We’ve always called out ‘supports healthy immune system function’ on the back of our pack for years (even before the Covid-19 pandemic).”

“Each serving of Born Vita contains 7.5 grams of added sugar, which is about one and a half teaspoons. This is well below the recommended daily intake of sugar for children,” she said.