Amid increased scrutiny on food and beverage companies, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has barred the sale of some popular alcohol brands. This includes spirits from Diageo India's United Spirits, Inbrew Beverages and Mohan Rocky Springwater.
According to the regulator, these manufacturers were blending artificial flavourings to mimic the taste of whiskey and rum. Under the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018, adding artificial or nature-identical flavourings that imitate a spirit’s natural taste is prohibited. FSSAI says that general additives like vanilla or coffee flavours are allowed, but adding the profile of the exact alcohol drink lacks justification since a neutral alcohol base is already used.
If it is added, it must be declared as a flavoured spirit rather than standard liquor.
"There is no internationally recognised manufacturing practice whereby rum flavour is added to rum or whisky flavour is added to whisky," the FSSAI said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday.
Tests conducted by the authority at Diageo and Inbrew factories found that flavour corresponding to the drink’s category was added. As flavouring can be used to mask neutral spirits, the regulator said this might lead companies to skip proper maturation. They added that this also eliminates the need for companies to use ingredients traditionally involved in making spirits, such as molasses, malt and grapes.
FSSAI said it issued notices to multiple alcohol manufacturers including Diageo, Mohan Rocky Springwater, INBREW Beverages and Associated Alcohol & Breweries. Six other companies have also been issued notices.
As of now, United Spirits' Antiquity Blue Whisky and Royal Challenge Whisky, produced in a plant in Madhya Pradesh, are banned. Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky and Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum from Mohan Rocky Springwater are also barred. Three variants of Old Monk, one of India’s oldest rum brands, are also included in the regulator’s actions.
These are whiskies that are domestically manufactured and classified under the Indian-made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) category. According to the International Wine and Spirits Record, imported spirits volumes in India grew at a CAGR of 16 per cent between 2019 and 2024. This raises concerns that the action might add stress to the IMFL segment.
