In yet another initiative for doing away with misleading claims from food products, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued clear directive to Food Business Operators (FBOs) for doing away with the ‘100% fruit juice’ claims made on the labels and advertisements of their fruit juice products and preventing misleading claims in the food industry.
In a letter issued to all FBOs by FSSAI’s Executive Director (Regulatory Complaince) Inoshi Sharma dated June 3, 2024, the authority stated that it had come to the notice of FSSAI that several Food Business Operators were selling/marketing various types of reconstituted fruit juices by claiming it as 100% fruit juices on their labels.
As per the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, there was no provision for making a claim for ‘100%’ Fruits Juice.
The directive further mentioned that ‘such claims are misleading, particularly under conditions where the major ingredient of the fruit juice is actually water and the primary ingredient (fruit), for which the claim is made, is only present in limited concentrations, or when the fruit juice is reconstituted using water and fruit concentrates/pulp.’
It further mentioned that the concerned FBOs have to comply with the standard of fruit juices as specified under sub-regulation 2.3.6 of Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards & Food Additives) Regulation, 2011 wherein it is clearly mentioned that the product covered by this Standard shall be labeled in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
Also in the ingredient list, the word ‘reconstituted’ shall be mentioned against the name of the juice, which is reconstituted from the concentrate. The product shall be labeled as Sweetened Juice if the added nutritive sweetners are in excess of 15gm/kg.
By this order, the FSSAI has directed all FBOs to remove claim of ‘100% Fruit Juices’ from the label and advertisements immediately. Also all the existing preprinted packaging materials shall be exhausted before September 01, 2024.
