Associated Alcohols and Breweries granted stay order on FSSAI sales ban

Associated Alcohols and Breweries has secured interim relief against a stop-sale directive issued by India’s food-safety regulator.

In a stock-exchange filing on 12 August, the company said the high court of Madhya Pradesh stayed the order, which had barred the sale of one whisky and one rum brand it produced.

The dispute arose from a 29 July directive issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

According to the order, the watchdog acted on the grounds that an “artificial flavour” declaration on the label violated the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The company called the regulator’s move “unjustified,” maintaining its labels followed industry practices and that it would seek “immediate” high court intervention.

At the time, the liquor maker said it was evaluating the operational and financial implications of the action and would update the stock exchanges on “further material developments”.

The company also outlined similar actions initiated by the FSSAI on a pan-India level.

It said the issue had also been taken up by industry bodies, including the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) and the International Spirits & Wines Association of India (ISWAI).

On 2 August, the FSSAI said the enforcement action on companies including Associated Alcohol and Breweries and Diageo-controlled United Spirits came after laboratory tests found artificial or “nature-identical flavours” had been added to certain rum and whisky products.

The regulator said such products should be labelled as “rum-flavoured spirit” or “whisky-flavoured spirit” instead of rum or whisky.

United Spirits, whose McDowell’s No. 1 rum and Antiquity Blue and Royal Challenge whiskies face a sales ban, said on 3 August it had filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court against the order.

“Associated Alcohols and Breweries granted stay order on FSSAI sales ban ” was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand.