Hyderabad pediatrician who fought against misuse of ORS labeling slapped with legal notice

Dr Sivaranjani has been raging an eight-year battle against the sugary energy drinks which are often confused for health drinks or rehydration solutions.

A Hyderabad-based pediatrician, who was at the forefront of a legal battle against misleading ORS marketing, has now received a legal notice from pharma giant Johnson and Johnson, accusing her of spreading false information about its energy drink.

The legal dispute came from Kenvue (the consumer health spin off of the pharma company) after Dr Sivaranjani Santosh had flagged caution against its re-branded energy drink CRZL on social media, one that can be confused for an ORS drink and contains sucralose, an artificial sweetener sucralose which is not suitable for children below two years of age.

In October last year, Dr Sivaranjani's eight-year long battle had led to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) prohibiting all food brands from casually using the tag ‘Oral Rehydration Salts’ or ‘ORS’ unless the formulation is strictly in compliance with the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Dr Sivaranjani has been fighting against the sugary energy drinks which are often passed on as health drinks or as rehydration solutions.

ORSL

The controversy

As per a media report, Johnson and Johnson had acquired a Bengaluru-based industry’s energy drink ORSL in the year 2014. Eventually, it was distributed as a fruit-based electrolyte drink in the country. 

The drink was labelled and marketed as an oral rehydration salt one could consume for diarrheal infections to restore electrolytes.

Last October, FSSAI prohibited the use of the suffix or prefix ‘ORS’ for fruit-based or non-carbonated drinks not in compliance with the WHO’s standard formula.

Recently, the pharma giant introduced a re-branded energy drink ERZL in the market and positioned it as a product with renewed composition, having 1.4 times more electrolytes and 8 times less sugar. The packaging cover of the drink labeled it as an ‘electrolyte drink’ as opposed to ORS.

Dr Sivaranjani in her recent social media posts raised a concern around the similarity in the brand names, ORSL and ERZL, claiming people who earlier consumed the product ORSL as an ORS drink would continue to see the re-branded product in the same way. Also, she pointed out that ERZL had sucralose, an artificial sweetener associated with increased risk of insulin resistance, diabetes and gut inflammation.

She also claimed this form of sugar is not recommended for children below two years of age.

In defense, the pharma giant sent a legal notice to her, saying that the composition of ERZL is in complete compliance with FSSAI food products standard, calling her social media posts malicious and incorrect.

What are the parties saying?

Speaking to DH, Dr Sivaranjani said all her videos were to spread awareness and not to incite speculations or malign any brand.

“People who are habitual of buying ORSL as an ORS drink over the counter won’t hesitate to buy ERZL for similar function. My intention was to make people see the difference between an ORS drink and an energy or electrolyte drink,” she told DH.

However, Johnson and Johnson refuted her allegations as baseless and falsely made.

The ERZL product is neither intended nor marketed for diarrheal conditions, and its packaging clearly differentiates the same, said the notice sent by Kenvue, saying its being sold for tiredness and exhaustion and not for diarrhea. 

Defending its position on the presence of sucralose in the composition, the notice clarified that ERZL is not an ‘infant food’ and questioned her expertise on sucralose. 

What is ORS?

Oral rehydration therapy is a therapeutic treatment to treat dehydration caused by diseases like diarrhea. The solution is a mixture of water, sugar and electrolytes (primarily sodium and potassium). The sugar used to make the intestines absorb electrolytes is mostly glucose.