FSSAI asks states to remove fruit-based beverages, other drinks being sold under ORS brand from mkts
New Delhi(PTI): Food regulator FSSAI has asked states to remove fruit-based beverages, ready-to-serve drinks and electrolyte drinks being sold deceptively under the product or brand name ORS from retail markets, according to sources.
Last month, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had directed all food business operators to immediately stop using the word 'ORS' (Oral Rehydration Solution) in their labelling and advertisements, calling such practices misleading to consumers.
In a letter dated November 19, FSSAI has written to all food commissioners in states and Union Territories for "immediate removal of misleading and deceptively" named fruit-based beverages, ready to serve drinks, electrolyte drinks and energy drinks being sold in the brand/product name containing terms 'ORS' from retail outlets and e-commerce platforms.
The regulator pointed out that these deceptive products are still being sold in the retail market, which violates its October order.
In its October 14 order, the food regulator had clarified that the use of the term 'ORS' in trademarked names or in the naming of any food products - even when accompanied by a prefix or suffix - constitutes a violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
FSSAI's last month order withdraws earlier directives issued in July 2022 and February 2024 that had permitted the use of the term 'ORS' on food labels, subject to a declaration or warning stating that "the product is not an ORS formula as recommended by WHO".
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Mamata’s decision not to quit part of her protest against Centre, EC: Raut
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday backed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision not to quit after her defeat in the assembly polls, calling it a part of her protest against the Centre and the Election Commission of India.
Talking to reporters, Raut asserted that it is necessary to unite against the “dictatorship of the Centre and partisan behaviour of the Election Commission”. He said the poll body has become “slaves” of the Centre.
The Opposition has to decide whether it has to contest the polls or not, he said.
“Mamata Banerjee is not resigning is part of her agitation against the government (Centre), the Election Commission (EC) and a series of acts against democracy,” Raut said.
It has to be seen what direction the agitation takes, he added.
Alleging that the West Bengal assembly poll verdict was “not a people's mandate but a conspiracy”, Banerjee on Tuesday refused to resign as chief minister.
The BJP sealed a landslide victory with 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, ending the TMC’s uninterrupted 15-year rule. Banerjee dismissed the outcome as “engineered” and asserted that her party was fighting the Election Commission, not the BJP. The TMC could only manage 80 seats.
In a post on Facebook, Raut said Banerjee’s decision not to quit is fully justified. He also sought to draw a parallel with the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis.
The then Chief Justice of India had observed during hearings on petitions seeking the disqualification of rebel MLAs of the undivided Shiv Sena that Uddhav Thackeray, who headed the party at the time, could have been reinstated as chief minister had he not resigned, Raut said.
The Rajya Sabha MP said Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had called up Banerjee after the polls and extended support. Almost all INDIA bloc leaders have called Banerjee and extended their support to her.
“We have to come together if we have to unite against the dictatorship of the Centre and the partisan behaviour of the EC or the way the poll body has become slaves of the government,” Raut said.
He claimed that even many in the government do not agree with the “degradation of democracy”.
