FSSAI restricts ORS use to WHO-standard formulations

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has ordered that no product may use the term Oral Rehydration Salts or ORS in its name unless its formulation conforms to the World Health Organization standard, the regulator said in a directive issued October 14 and clarified the next day. The order rescinds earlier permissions and requires food business operators to stop using ORS as part of a brand name or trademark unless the product meets the WHO-recommended composition, the FSSAI said.

The move follows a multi-year campaign by Hyderabad pediatrician Dr. Sivaranjani Santosh, who filed a public interest litigation in 2022 challenging the sale and marketing of sugary beverages labeled as ORS despite not meeting WHO electrolyte and glucose standards. Dr. Santosh welcomed the order, saying in a social media post, "We have won it," and described it as the result of sustained effort to prevent consumer confusion.

According to the regulator, the use of ORS on products that do not match the WHO formula is misleading and violates provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. A detailed clarification issued October 15 reaffirmed that such labeling amounts to false, deceptive,...