India’s food safety regulator has barred the sale of some popular whiskies and rum made by Diageo’s India unit and India’s Inbrew Beverages for using artificial flavoring instead of proper ageing and ingredients to achieve their taste and aroma.
Regulatory Action
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said it allows the use of natural flavoring substances in alcoholic drinks, but its tests found that some Diageo and Inbrew factories were adding flavors of the alcoholic beverage itself, like adding rum flavor to rum.
The FSSAI has ordered a ban on sales from Diageo’s Indian subsidiary, including popular brands such as Antiquity Blue Whisky and Royal Challenge Whisky, made in Madhya Pradesh state, and McDowell’s No 1 Rum made in western Maharashtra.
In a stock exchange filing referring to FSSAI’s concerns about its rum product, Diageo India unit United Spirits said it is taking up the matter with the FSSAI as ‘this is an industry-wide concern’, adding: ‘the product labels in question are in compliance with the current applicable laws and regulations’.
The FSSAI also banned sales of Inbrew’s Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky and Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum, produced in Madhya Pradesh, and sales of three popular variants of Old Monk – one of India’s best-known and oldest rum brands – made by Mohan Rocky Springwater in Maharashtra.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
