Coca-Cola, Pepsi told to list caffeine as ingredient

FDA sends notices to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo asking them to comply with the regulations within a fortnight

FDA has contended that caffeine must be mentioned in the list of ingredients as “it is not a flavouring agent at all”. Photo: Bloomberg Mumbai: A complaint from a consumer organization has prompted the Maharashtra unit of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to send notices to soft drink makers including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, asking them to list caffeine as an ingredient on the packaging. 

The Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration’s (FDA) attention was drawn to the matter when the Society for Awareness of Civil Rights complained that although Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd’s Café Cuba mentions “contains caffeine” on its label, the list of ingredients at the back of the can doesn’t mention caffeine. 

On 12 June, FDA impounded at least 90,000 cans of Café Cuba for violating these norms, following which Parle Agro approached the Bombay high court seeking their release. In his plea, Parle Agro’s lawyer Virag Tulzapurkar said that caffeine was used in Café Cuba “as a flavouring agent and, therefore, not required to be mentioned in the list of ingredients”. FDA has contended that caffeine must be mentioned in the list of ingredients as “it is not a flavouring agent at all”. 

“In products which use artificial flavours that give an essence of caffeine, there is still some caffeine content that the product will have. However, if a consumer has large amounts of these products, then it would give a caffeine kick,” said Priya Khanna, a nutritionist practising in Mumbai. In response to Parle’s argument that other carbonated beverage manufacturers also didn’t mention caffeine in the list of ingredients, G. Hariharan, the lawyer representing the government, said that notices have been sent to other aerated drink makers as well. 

A food and safety officer of FDA directly involved in the case confirmed that last week notices were sent to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo asking them to comply with the regulations within a fortnight. “We have recently received a communication from FSSAI regarding certain labelling declarations on Pepsi and Mountain Dew. We are examining the same and will not be able to comment further at this stage,” said a PepsiCo India spokesperson. “We declare ingredients and or additives on our label as applicable under the current regulations and are fully compliant,” said a Coca-Cola India spokesperson, who maintained that the company had not received any notice from the authorities to this effect. 

On Wednesday, the Bombay high court passed an order asking Parle Agro to change the labelling for Café Cuba to reflect whether it contains caffeine or not. The court also asked FDA to release the seized cans of Café Cuba saying that “it is important to note, however, that the respondents (FDA) have not seized the stock of any other manufacturer”. Rajendra Kothari, chief financial officer, Parle Agro, expressed satisfaction with the court’s “reprimand” to FSSAI and FDA. “Seizure of Café Cuba at various locations in Maharashtra has been held invalid and all the stock is ordered to be released,” he said. Soft drinks are not the only target of FSSAI’s newfound zeal for enforcing labelling norms. Last week, 

The Wall Street Journal reported how cases and cases of Scotch whiskey were lying impounded in customs warehouses because they didn’t meet labelling requirements. Arvind Singhal, chairman of management consultancy Technopak Advisors, said: “Consumers don’t really care about the fine print unless the ingredient in question is harmful for them. 

What’s happening in this country right now is that we are going from a situation of zero consideration for consumer education to a situation where the pendulum swings to the other extreme, and regulation seeks to educate the consumer beyond what they want to, and need to, know.” 

According to a report by Business Monitor International, the Indian non-alcoholic beverage market comprising carbonated drinks, juices, bottled water, ready-to-drink tea and coffee, and sports drinks is expected to touch $5.18 billion by 2015.