The Food Business Operators (FBOs) have been asked by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to remove the “100% fruit juice” claims from the advertisements and labels of reconstituted fruit juices which are widely available in the Indian market.
The FBOs are asked to withdraw such claims immediately. However, FSSAI has given them time till 1st September, 2024 to exhaust all “pre-printed existing packaging material”.
Reconstituted fruit juices refer to those products which contain a fruit juice concentrate mixed with water. A significant portion of available fruit juices in India fall under this category.
In a media statement released by the Union Health Ministry on 3rd June, 2024, FSSAI said, “Since existing food safety regulations have no provisions to manufacture “100%” fruit juice, all such claims are misleading.”
“Such claims are misleading, particularly under conditions where the major ingredient of the fruit juice is water and the primary ingredient, for which the claim is made, is present only in limited concentrations, or when the fruit juice is reconstituted using water and fruit concentrates or pulp,” according to FSSAI.
No provision under the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018 allows for making a ‘100%’ claim.
Against the name of the juice which is reconstituted from the concentrate, the word “reconstituted” has to be mentioned, specifically, in the ingredient list of the juice. In addition to this, if the added nutritive sweeteners exceed 15 gm/kg, the juice must be labeled as ‘sweetened juice’.
All the FBOs must comply with the standards for fruit juices set under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards & Food Additives) Regulation, 2011. Additionally, the FBOs must ensure that their labels are in consonance with the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
