Position of FSSAI on the use of identical flavours in Alcoholic Beverages

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has taken enforcement action against several alcoholic beverage manufacturers for adding external identical flavours that mask the natural sensory profile of the product, thereby violating Regulation 5.1 of the Food Safety Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulation 2020 and Regulation 2.5 of the Food Safety Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulation 2018. Laboratory tests found such products sub‑standard, and misleading age‑related claims (e.g., “7 years old blended”) were flagged as deceptive. While natural and nature‑identical flavourings are permissible, the addition of the same flavour as the base spirit (e.g., rum‑flavoured rum) lacks a legitimate technological justification and is prohibited. Prohibition of sale orders were issued to multiple firms, with conditional relaxations granted only after corrective labelling. The issue is limited to a few manufacturers and does not represent the entire industry.