FDA seizes energy drink stock worth Rs 56L over misbranding

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Food and drug administration (FDA) officials on Tuesday seized energy drink stock worth over Rs 56 lakh over alleged misbranding after conducting two separate raids at storage facilities in Waluj and Karodi belonging to a pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare firm manufacturing the drink.

According to assistant commissioner with FDA, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dayanand Patil, the company violated regulations that prohibit the use of terms like “electrolyte” or “electrolyte drink” or similar descriptors for food products in the absence of a prescribed standard.

FDA officials cited a May 26 letter issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to the firm, objecting to the use of such terminology. A copy of the letter, accessed by TOI, also flagged the use of functional or therapeutic claims, including recovery from dehydration, nausea, vomiting, fever and general weakness, stating that these were in violation of provisions under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

“Despite warnings from the FSSAI, the product continued to be misbranded and marketed, prompting action,” an FDA official said on Wednesday, adding that the raids were conducted on FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe’s directive.

In another crackdown in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, FDA seized cow ghee worth Rs 18,150 over suspected adulteration on Wednesday. The raid was conducted at a dairy and food firm in Gajanan Nagar where loose ghee was being sold. The samples have been sent for lab testing, Patil said.

Crackdown in Parbhani & Beed

FDA officials seized bakery products and loose edible oil worth Rs 3.5 lakh in a separate action in Parbhani on May 29.

Officials said packaged items like ‘Cherry Toast’ and ‘Sesame Toast’ worth Rs 28,080 were confiscated from a bakery for failing to meet mandatory labelling requirements under the Food Safety and Standards Act. The products were being manufactured under unhygienic conditions, they said.

In another raid, 1,996kg of loose soyabean and palm oil worth Rs 3.19 lakh was seized from a trading firm for being sold in unpackaged form. “Samples from the seized stocks have been collected and sent for laboratory analysis,” A A Chaudhary, assistant commissioner, FDA, Parbhani, said.

Meanwhile, FDA seized and destroyed a large quantity of lassi produced by a local manufacturer in Beed district on Wednesday. The officials said the drink had been prepared using ingredients that had crossed their expiry dates.