India’s food safety regulator has barred the sale of some popular whiskies and rum made by United Spirits and Inbrew Beverages for using artificial flavouring instead of proper ageing and ingredients to achieve their taste and aroma.
India is one of the world’s biggest alcohol markets, with total annual sales estimated at $40 billion. USL, a subsidiary of global major Diageo, is the nation’s biggest alcohol company by market share, with its popular brands competing with the likes of Pernod Ricard.
The locally made spirits subject to the regulator’s bans are more affordable than imported rum and whisky.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said it allows the use of natural flavouring substances in alcoholic drinks, but its tests found that some USL and Inbrew factories were adding flavours of the alcoholic beverage itself, like adding rum flavour to rum.
“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 late on Sunday.
Such flavours would allow companies to bypass maturation or the use of natural ingredients such as molasses, malt, or grapes, the FSSAI added.
The FSSAI said it had 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, and McDowell’s No 1 Rum made in western Maharashtra.
In a stock exchange filing referring to the FSSAI’s concerns, United Spirits informed bourses that based on legal advice, the company is of the view that the declarations on the product labels in question are in compliance with the current applicable legal and regulatory framework in India and are consistent with long-standing industry practice.
United Spirits added that USL has challenged the order through a writ petition in Bombay High Court on August 1.
USL said it was also taking up the matter with the FSSAI and industry associations such as the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies and the International Spirits & Wines Association of India as this was an industry-wide concern.
The FSSAI has 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.
Inbrew and Mohan Rocky Springwater did not respond to requests for comment..
Royal Challenge Whisky is one of Diageo’s most popular products in India, described on its website as “a perfect fusion of scotch, Indian malts and grain spirits that’s been blended to perfection”. Over 4.5 million nine-litre cases of Royal Challenge are sold every year in India, Diageo says.
Alcohol pricing differs in each state, but in Uttar Pradesh, a 375 millilitre bottle of the Royal Challenge whisky costs just ₹360.
A Reuters review of its product label said it contained water, grain neutral spirit, scotch with “permitted natural colour”, as well as “nature identical (whisky) flavouring substances”.
