The Bombay High Court on Monday sought the Centre's response to a plea by alcoholic-beverage makers challenging the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) prohibition on the sale of certain rum and whisky variants. According to reports from Mint, Senior counsel Navroz H. Seervai, representing Mohan Rocky Springwater Breweries Pvt. Ltd, maker of Old Monk Rum, told the court that the product has been sold for more than five decades and that the prohibition was causing the company losses of nearly ₹1 crore a day. Seervai argued that changing the label would amount to conceding that the product had been incorrectly described for the past 50 years. The court had earlier clubbed the petition filed by United Spirits with Mohan Rocky Springwater Breweries' plea, with the matter expected to be heard next on 24 August.
The dispute stems from laboratory tests conducted by FSSAI, which found external artificial or nature-identical flavouring substances in the products. According to the regulator, these substances masked the products' natural characteristics. As reported by Mint, FSSAI prohibited the sale of specific variants of McDowell's No. 1 Rum, Antiquity Blue Whisky and Royal Challenge Whisky manufactured by United Spirits; select Old Monk rum variants made by Mohan Rocky Springwater Breweries; and Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky and Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum produced by Inbrew Beverages. The regulator also inspected Mandexi Distilleries & Breweries in Goa and issued notices to six other manufacturers in Maharashtra.
In a previous hearing on Friday, United Spirits, maker of McDowell's No. 1 Rum, argued that adding rum flavouring to rum has been an industry practice for decades and that the food regulator cannot suddenly stop the sale of products that have been sold for years without finding any health risk. According to Mint, Seervai emphasized that there had been no consumer complaints or reported illnesses linked to the products, stating that nobody has complained, nobody has fallen ill, and nobody has taken action. The court had earlier clubbed the petition filed by United Spirits with Mohan Rocky Springwater Breweries' plea, with the matter expected to be heard next on 24 August.
FSSAI cited the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018, which require standardized alcoholic beverages such as rum and whisky to possess their characteristic taste and aroma. As reported by Mint, the regulator argued that adding 'rum flavour' to rum or 'whisky flavour' to whisky misrepresents these standardized products. A division bench headed by acting chief justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and justice Gautam A. Ankhad directed the Centre to respond to the manufacturers' plea by 19 August, with emailed queries sent to FSSAI remaining unanswered until press time.
