FSSAI Clarifies Position on Enforcement Action Against Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturers Over Use of Identical Flavours
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), vide a press release dated 02 August 2026 , has clarified its position on the enforcement action initiated against certain alcoholic beverage manufacturers. According to FSSAI, the manufacturers concerned were producing rum and whisky predominantly from neutral alcohol, which has no characteristic flavour of its own, and were adding rum or whisky flavour externally to replicate the taste and aroma which ought to arise naturally from the manufacturing process.
Laboratory reports found such products to be sub-standard under Regulation 2.5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018, which requires rum to possess the characteristic taste and aroma associated with the product, and their labels fail to disclose the true nature of the product on the front of the pack, contrary to Regulation 5.1 of the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020. The claim of “7 years old blended” on the Old Monk XXX Matured Rum vari ant was also found to be misleading, as the matured spirit constituted less than 5% of the blend.
FSSAI has clarified that flavours such as coffee or vanilla remain permissible where their use is otherwise permitted under law and serves a legitimate technological purpose. The objection is confined to the addition of the flavour of the standardised beve rage itself, which serves no such purpose and is impermissible under Clauses 3.1.1(4) and 3.1.1(7) of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
Orders prohibiting the sale have been issued in respect of three Old Monk rum variants, McDowell’s No 1 Rum, Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky, Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum, Central Province Whisky, McDowell’s No 1 Celebration Matured XXX Rum, Antiquity Blue Whisky and Ro yal Challenge Whisky, and notices have been issued to six other manufacturers in Maharashtra. Pertinently, two manufacturers have, on appeal, been permitted to sell their existing stock subject to disclosure the true nature of the product on the front of the pack, subject to the direction that no such flavour be added in future production.
Click here to red the full newsletter.
The content of this document does not necessarily reflect the views / position of Khaitan & Co but remain solely those of the author(s). For any further queries or follow up, please contact Khaitan & Co at editors@khaitanco.com.
