India's food safety regulator has ordered a ban on the sale of select whisky and rum variants manufactured by some of the country's leading liquor companies, citing violations related to flavouring practices and misleading product labelling, NDTV reported.
The action by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) affects products made by companies including United Spirits, a subsidiary of Diageo, Inbrew Beverages and Mohan Rocky Springwater.
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The products under scrutiny are primarily mass-market, locally produced spirits.
According to FSSAI, laboratory tests found that some manufacturers had added artificial or nature-identical flavouring substances to recreate the characteristic taste and aroma of rum or whisky instead of allowing these attributes to develop naturally through raw materials, fermentation, distillation and maturation.
The regulator said such products cannot be marketed simply as rum or whisky because the practice could mislead consumers.
Instead, they should be labelled as "rum-flavoured spirit" or "whisky-flavoured spirit", in line with the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018.
FSSAI said the laboratory findings classified the affected products as "sub-standard", noting that the added flavours masked the beverages' natural sensory profile.
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The regulator has also questioned the "7 Years Old Blended" claim on a variant of Old Monk XXX Rum.
According to its investigation, the product predominantly contained neutral spirit, while matured rum spirit accounted for less than 5% of the blend.
Under existing regulations, the age statement of a blended spirit must be determined by the youngest spirit in the blend, making the claim potentially misleading, FSSAI said.
Based on its findings, FSSAI issued prohibition orders covering products including Old Monk The Legend, Old Monk Gold Reserve and Old Monk XXX Matured Rum; McDowell's No.1 Rum; Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky; Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum; Central Province Whisky; McDowell's No.1 Celebration Matured XXX Rum; Antiquity Blue Whisky; and Royal Challenge Whisky.
However, the regulator clarified that it is not prohibiting the use of flavouring substances in alcoholic beverages altogether.
Manufacturers may continue to use permitted natural or nature-identical flavours, such as vanilla or coffee, where allowed under regulations.
The concern, FSSAI said, is specifically with the addition of "rum flavour" to rum or "whisky flavour" to whisky, arguing that these defining characteristics are expected to develop naturally during production.
FSSAI added that the enforcement action is limited to specific manufacturers and does not reflect industry-wide practices.
Two manufacturers have secured conditional relief after appealing the prohibition orders, allowing them to sell existing stock provided labels clearly disclose the products' true nature.
According to the NDTV report, for the future production, the manufacturers must comply with the regulator's directions.
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