The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has instructed e-commerce platforms to remove drinks like Bournvita and other similar products from the ‘healthy drinks’ category on all their portals and platforms.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had previously written to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry regarding this matter.

As per reports, the Ministry then issued an advisory to all e-commerce companies saying, “National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory body constituted under section (3) of the Commission of Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act 2005 after its inquiry under Section 14 of CRPC Act 2005 concluded that there is no ‘health drink’ defined under Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act 2006, rules and regulations submitted by FSSAI and Mondelez India Food.”

The order is dated April 10, 2024.

On April 2, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directed all e-commerce food business operators (FBOs) to appropriately categorise the food items they sell on their websites, according to reports.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has observed that some food products licensed under ‘Proprietary Food’ with the nearest category Dairy-Based Beverage Mix, Cereal-Based Beverage Mix, or Malt-Based Beverage, are being sold on e-commerce sites under categories like ‘Health Drink’ or ‘Energy Drink’.

Reports stated that a year ago, the row began about whether Bournvita was actually good for health. Soon after, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asked Mondelez India, the company behind the brand, to remove “misleading” commercials claiming of the drink’s health benefits.

This move came after a video showed that Bournvita contained high sugar content, which was earlier often labelled as “health drink” in many ads.