Global beverage companies including PepsiCo, Red Bull and Monster Beverage face a 90-day deadline to remove the term “energy drink” and similar descriptions from certain high-caffeine products sold in India, with the food safety regulator unlikely to grant their request for more time.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) set the deadline in July, arguing that India does not have specific standards for products described as energy drinks and that such labelling violates existing regulations, per a report by NDTV.
The companies, along with Reliance Consumer Products, have sought at least a year to comply, citing large quantities of products already in the market and pending imports of cans carrying the disputed labelling.
FSSAI unlikely to extend deadline
A government source said the regulator is not expected to extend the 90-day period. Several states have reportedly told the Centre that existing stocks could be cleared within 60 to 90 days.
The government official also criticised companies over their inventory tracking.
"The companies have breached regulations by labelling them energy drinks, they should be happy (India) is not prosecuting them," the official said.
"They have not told FSSAI how much inventory is lying in which state, which they are supposed to track to ensure traceability," the official added.
Industry representatives, however, said keeping track of stocks across states would be difficult because of the large volumes involved.
States step up seizures
The labelling dispute has also raised concerns among beverage companies over enforcement actions by individual states.
Rajasthan last month seized thousands of cans and bottles of Pepsi's Sting, Reliance's Campa Energy and Red Bull as part of its food safety drive. Ladakh's food safety authorities have also said they would seize products that violate labelling rules.
"Seizure action is an explicit part of the district-level inspection drive already underway," the Ladakh food safety office said, adding that beverages at retailers and distributors were being checked for labelling.
Energy drink market grows rapidly
India's energy drink market has expanded sharply in recent years. Euromonitor estimates retail sales grew 12.6 per cent annually and reached 907 million litres last year.
The market received a major boost after PepsiCo launched Sting in 2017. The low-priced drink became particularly popular among younger consumers and in rural markets.
Executives from PepsiCo, Red Bull and Monster also raised their concerns with Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan on Tuesday. Paswan said his ministry remained committed to promoting "investment, innovation, and job creation" in the sector.