FSSAI Orders Immediate Removal of ‘ORS’ Label from Food and Drink Products

Moneylife Digital Team 16 October 2025

Investor Interest

The food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) has directed all states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure the removal of the term ‘ORS’ (oral rehydration salts) from all food and beverage products being marketed across the country. The move is aimed at preventing the misleading use of a term that is medically associated with the treatment of dehydration and not applicable to food products regulated under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

In a circular issued to food safety commissioners, central licensing authorities and regional directors, FSSAI instructed all food business operators (FBOs) to strictly comply with labelling and advertising standards. The regulator emphasised that the use of the term 'ORS' on food products is unauthorised and misleading, as it is reserved for pharmaceutical formulations governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

According to the circular, FSSAI has asked state and UT authorities to monitor market shelves and product packaging to ensure compliance. The directive also calls for immediate rectification of labels and advertisements that use the term ORS or any derivative thereof.

Officials have been told to take enforcement action against violators under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, and other relevant laws.

“The use of the term ORS by food manufacturers is likely to mislead consumers into believing that the product has therapeutic properties,” the circular says, stressing the need to maintain a clear distinction between food supplements and medical formulations.

The directive follows growing concern over several packaged drinks and electrolyte beverages marketed using the term 'ORS' or 'ORS-type' claims, potentially confusing consumers into equating them with World Health Organisation (WHO)-formulated oral rehydration solutions meant for medical use.

The WHO’s ORS is a precise mixture of glucose and electrolytes used for clinical management of dehydration due to diarrhoea or heat exhaustion. FSSAI clarified that any such medical rehydration formulation falls under drug regulation, not food regulation.

FSSAI’s latest order reiterates that food products cannot make medical or therapeutic claims unless permitted under the Food Safety and Standards (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Food and Novel Food) Regulations, 2016.

Manufacturers and marketers have been told to review all product labels, advertising materials and digital promotions to remove references to 'ORS'. Products already in the market will need relabelling or withdrawal, as per the directions of state authorities.

An official familiar with the directive says that food firms using terms like 'hydration ORS drink' or 'electrolyte ORS beverage' would now face regulatory action for non-compliance.

The order aligns with FSSAI’s wider campaign to ensure truthful labelling and consumer protection. The authority has, in recent years, intensified scrutiny on misleading health claims, fortified food misbranding and exaggerated advertising in the packaged food sector.

“The intent is to safeguard consumers from confusion between food products and medical solutions, and to ensure transparency and trust in product labelling,” an FSSAI official says.

Comments

User

iaminprabhu

2 months ago

FSSAI as,always has woken up after almost 10 YEARS of rampant use & exploitation of Consumers , even by PHARMA Companies selling such products in Tetrapak packs through Medical shops via Doctor Profession (Medical Reps, Sales).

Huge 300-400% Profit Margins in 200 ml Tetrapacks has been exploiting gullible Consumers