Horlicks no more health drink, renamed as functional nutritional drink
আজকাল | ২৬ এপ্রিল ২০২৪
The next time you buy your favourite Horlicks, do not consider it as a health drink. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) dropped the ‘health’ label and rebranded Horlicks as ‘functional nutritional drinks’ (FND).The significant move comes after the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on April 10 directed the e-commerce platforms to remove drinks such as Horlicks, Boost, Bournvita and others from ‘healthy’ category as many of them contain excess amount of sugar and said that there is no such thing as ‘health drink’ defined under the country’s food and safety standards laws.The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also instructed all e-commerce companies not to label cereal-based, malt-based or dairy-based products as ‘health drink’ or ‘energy drink’.HUL"s Chief Financial Officer Ritesh Tiwari addressed a press conference on April 24 and emphasised that this significant change from ‘health drink’ to ‘FND’ will give more accurate and transparent description of the category.As per HUL, ‘FND’ category describes any non-alcoholic beverage that provides health benefits due to the presence of protein, micronutrient needs and bioactive components from a plant, animal, marine or microorganisms.This significant move took place after concerns were raised about the presence of high-sugar level in Horlicks and Bournvita, thereby aiming to prevent misleading advertisement practices and clarify confusion among consumers regarding ‘health drinks’. This happened when Cadbury’s Bournvita became a matter of controversy after it came under the scanner for its ‘high sugar content’ exposed by a social media influencer called Food Pharmer. This was followed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sending an enquiry to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), that resulted the Centre to issue the order for e-commerce companies.