Liquor brand Old Monk cannot sell or market its product as “rum”, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has reportedly told the Bombay high court.
The FSSAI initiated enforcement action against alcohol beverage manufacturers for the use of non-permitted flavours, age-related claims, and misleading labels, according to a statement of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare dated August 2.
The next hearing is scheduled for September 11.
The regulatory body, on Thursday, informed the court that Old Monk cannot be sold as “rum” because the product is made using neutral spirit and artificial rum flavouring, according to a report by LiveMint. FSSAI’s counsel clarified to the court that the primary issue is the fundamental nature of the product rather than just its labelling, stating that selling it as “rum” is not permitted, according to the report.
The major ingredient of the rum is neutral (unmatured/unaged) spirit, while the matured rum spirit is only a minor ingredient of the rum (less than 5% as per investigation findings),” the August 2 statement said.
“The claim of “7 years old blended” in the label of Old monk XXX Rum variant was also found to be misleading.
