Bournvita is no longer a 'health drink': All you need to know about Centre's decision

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had earlier written to the Commerce and Industry Ministry advising all e-commerce companies remove drinks and beverages from the category of 'health drinks'.

Bournvita which is widely consumed along with milk, will no longer be considered a 'healthy drink'. The central government has sent a notice to all e-commerce companies ordering them to stop listing drinks and beverages under the 'health drinks' category on their portals.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had earlier written to the Commerce and Industry Ministry on this issue.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry then wrote in an advisory to all e-commerce companies that, "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 10, in a letter the Ministry of Commerce mentioned that Bournvita along with other drinks to be excluded from the category as under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act 2006, there's no definition of a 'health drink'.

The row about Bournvita not being a health drink started in April 2023, when Revant Himantsingka, a nutritionist and an influencer shared a video on his Instagram account and spoke about the ingredients that go in Bournvita.

Revant criticised Bournvita, that is owned by Mondelez, and said that it has high sugar content and said: Bournvita's tagline is 'tayyari jeet ki' (preparation for victory), but in reality Bournvita is preparing kids for diabetes, due to high sugar content. He also claimed that Bournvita has certain ingredients that could cause cancer.

The video garnered over 12 million views, however, Mondelez India sent a legal notice to Revant and told him to delete the video, which he did, as reported by News18.

As per the publication, he then said, "I apologize to Cadbury (owned by Mondelez) for making the video. I did not plan or intend to infringe any trademark or defame any company nor do I have the interest or resources to participate in any court cases and I request MNCs to not take this forward legally."

Mondelez called Revant's remarks as "unscientific" and said that he is trying to "distort facts and make false and negative implications".

The company in a counter statement said, "Every serving of 20 grams of Bournvita contains 7.5 grams of added sugar, which is approximately one and a half teaspoons. This is much less than the daily recommended intake limits of sugar for children… All ingredients are safe, approved for use, and within permissible limits as per regulatory guidelines."

After this, NCPCR sent a notice to the company to remove all misleading advertisements, labels and packaging.

(With Reuters inputs)