Now Reading: FSSAI bans Old Monk, Antiquity Blue and Royal Challenge variants
-
01
FSSAI bans Old Monk, Antiquity Blue and Royal Challenge variants
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has banned several rum and whisky variants after laboratory tests found external artificial or nature-identical flavours masking their natural taste. The list includes three…
The Story in Brief
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has banned several rum and whisky variants after laboratory tests found external artificial or nature-identical flavours masking their natural taste. The list includes three Old Monk variants, McDowell’s No 1 Rum, Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky, Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum, Central Province Whisky, Antiquity Blue Whisky and Royal Challenge Whisky.
FSSAI said some manufacturers used neutral or immature spirit with added flavours instead of developing taste through ageing and base materials such as molasses, malt or grapes. It called Old Monk XXX Rum’s seven-year blended claim deceptive, saying matured rum spirit accounted for less than 5% of the product, according to its findings. Diageo India has challenged the regulator’s order in the Bombay High Court, saying its labels and methods comply with industry practice.
The Indian Opinion
The lazy version of this story is that every bottle named by FSSAI is fake, while the industry’s opposite claim is that the regulator is disrupting accepted practice. Neither follows from the available facts. The real issue is whether labels accurately describe the liquid and its ageing. Natural flavouring can be permitted, but adding rum flavour to a product sold as rum needs clear rules and honest naming. The court’s reading of the regulations, along with the youngest spirit in each blend, should settle the dispute.
Source: livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
