Flavoured rum, whisky? FSSAI tightens rules for alcohol labels

FSSAI has initiated enforcement action against alcoholic beverage manufacturers, including makers of Old Monk, McDowell's, Bagpiper, Antiquity Blue, and Royal Challenge, for using non-permitted flavouring practices and misleading age-related claims.

Inspections and lab tests found that some manufacturers were adding external 'rum flavour' to rum and 'whisky flavour' to whisky instead of developing the flavour naturally through raw materials, fermentation, distillation, and maturation.

According to FSSAI, these products, often made from neutral alcohol, should be labelled as 'Rum-flavoured Spirit' or 'Whisky-flavoured Spirit' to accurately reflect their nature, as the current labelling misleads consumers.

The regulator flagged the '7 Years Old Blended' claim on an Old Monk XXX Rum variant as misleading, since the product contained less than 5% matured rum spirit, mostly unaged neutral spirit.

FSSAI stated that failing to disclose the true nature of the product on the front of the pack violates the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.