The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has recently issued an advisory asking e-commerce companies to remove drinks like Bournvita and other beverages from the 'health drinks' category. 

The Commerce and Industry Ministry stated in the advisory issued on April 10, “National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory body constituted under Section (3) of the Commission of Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005 after its inquiry under Section 14 of CRPC Act 2005 concluded that there is no ‘health drink’ defined under FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations submitted by FSSAI and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd.”

On April 2, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) instructed all e-commerce food business operators to appropriately label their food products and ensure proper categorisation of all the food products sold on their platforms. The FSSAI also ordered companies to not include dairy products or malt-based drinks as healthy. 

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) earlier directed FSSAI to take action against companies mislabeling their products as 'health drinks' for children. 

“All ecommerce companies/portals are hereby advised to remove drink/beverages including Bournvita from the category of ‘health drinks’ from their sites/portals,” stated the advisory. 

According to the advisory, there is no specific definition for 'health drinks' in Indian food laws, and it is a violation of rules to sell something labelled as a health drink. 

The advisory was issued following a controversy sparked by a YouTuber's video regarding Bournvita's false health claims and its high levels of sugar, cocoa solids, and harmful ingredients, which can cause severe health complications like cancer in children. 

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