Centre Orders E-Commerce Sites To Remove Bournvita From 'Health Drinks' Category

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has advised e-commerce companies to remove all beverages, including Bournvita, from the "health drinks" category on their portals and platforms, according to an IANS report.

The ministry notification, dated April 10, stated, "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 FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations submitted by FSSAI and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd."

The advisory follows an NCPCR probe that discovered sugar levels much above the acceptable limits in Bournvita.

Earlier, NCPCR had asked the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to act against those companies that failed to meet safety standards and norms, and were projecting power supplements as "health drinks".

According to the regulatory body, the country's food laws don't include the definiton of a "health drink". Therefore, projecting anything in that manner violates the rules. E-commerce portals were earlier this month instructed by the FSSAI against labelling diary-based or malt-based beverages as "health drinks".

A YouTuber's video about how Bournvita contained excessive sugar, cocoa solids, and harmful colourants, which could lead to serious health hazards like cancer in children that sparked a controversy about Bournvita's "unhealthy" nature.