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Deadline for compliance with caffeinated drink stds extended to Dec 31
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Thursday, 22 June, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Shraddha Joshi, Mumbai
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In its recent directive, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has extended the deadline for caffeinated beverages to comply with the set standards to December 31, 2017 and issued a notification.
It stated, “As products manufactured or imported in compliance with the draft regulations are still available in the market, and will continue to be fit for sale for the next year or two, and recalling and removing the currently complaint stock from the market after July 1, 2017 shall impose unnecessary logistical and financial burden on the trade.”
An FSSAI official said, “The decision to extend the time period to December 31, 2017 has been taken in order to avoid unnecessary burden on the manufacturers and trade. Manufacturers are thus informed to clear their remaining stock before imposed deadline.”
After taking due consideration, the country’s apex food regulator has decided that the stock of caffeinated beverages manufactured domestically or imported in accordance with the requirement specified vide the food authority’s earlier approval before June 30, 2017 shall be exempted from compliance of the above regulations till December 31, 2017.”
In 2013, the draft regarding these standards was introduced for the receipt of comments from the concerned stakeholders. In November 2016, FSSAI, in its gazette notification, set the standards for caffeinated beverages.
Sagar Kurade, managing director, Suman Projects Consultants, and past president, All India Food Processors’ Association (AIFPA), said, “Most of the manufactures have already started following the set standards, and those players that are yet to clear their stock can do it by the extended deadline. It will provide a relief to those are yet to clear their stock.”
“When we say caffeinated beverages, there are a few brands that have come under the high caffeine content category. The current permissible amount of total caffeine is between 145mg per litre and 300mg per litre,” he added.
“However, the range in other countries is between 325mg per litre to 340mg per litre. So why isn’t India also in line with the world standards? The apex body should take into consideration for this maximum limit,” Kurade said.
The notification specifying the essential composition of caffeinated beverages stated that it shall contain not less than 145mg per litre and not more than 300mg per litre of total caffeine from whichever sources it may be derived in the formulation of the product.
It added that if any additional item or ingredient is proposed to be added, ingredients other than taurine, D-glucurono-Y-lactone, inositol and pantothenic acid will be subject to approval by the food authority after seeking safety assessment and sustaining scientific evidence.
The notice also made certain declarations for the packaging material. It made it mandatory for food business operators (FBOs) to declare, “Consume not more than 500ml per day” on the label and allowed the use of a blue tint in plastic containers of five litre and above for packaging.
It also declared that the water used in the preparation of caffeinated beverages should adhere to the packaged drinking water standards.
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