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GOVERNMENT OFINDIA
MINISTRYOFHEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE
DEPARTMENT OFHEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 2298
TO BE ANSWEREDON31th JULY, 2026
ADULTERATION IN ENERGYDRINKS
†2298. SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA:
Will the Ministerof HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate:
(a) whether adulterated energy drinks are being sold on a large scale in the country, if so, the
details thereof;
(b) whether a large number of people are falling victim to cancer, paralysis and heart
diseases
due to the high caffeine content in these adulterated drinks, if so, the details thereof along
with the number of such cases reported in the country so far; and
(c) the action taken by the Government against the manufacturers and sellers ofadulterated
energy drinks?
ANSWER
THEMINISTEROFSTATEINTHEMINISTRYOFHEALTHANDFAMILY
WELFARE
(SHRIPRATAPRAOJADHAV)
(a) to (c): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is mandated to lay down
science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage,
distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human
consumption. The implementation and enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS)
Act, 2006isa shared responsibility between the Central andStateGovernments.
FSSAI vide advisory dated28.03.2024 hasclarified that ‘Health Drink’ is not defined/
standardized anywhere under the FSS Act, 2006 or rules and regulations made thereunder.
Therefore,the food products licensedunder'Proprietary Food'with the nearest category-Dairy
Based Beverage Mix or Cereal Based Beverage Mix or Malt Based Beverage beingsold in the
e-commerce website under the category ‘Health Drink’, ‘Energy Drink’ have been advised to
remove / de-linksuch drinks/ beverages from the categoryof ‘HealthDrinks / EnergyDrinks’
on their website and place such products in the appropriate category as provided under the
extantlaw.As per the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives)
Regulations, 2011 the Caffeinated Beverage “shall contain not less than145 mg per liter and
not more than 300 mg per litre total caffeine from whatever sources it may be derived in the
formulation of the product”. Further, the label of the product is required to carry the
declaration, consume not more than 500 ml per day." The standards are specified based on
scientific risk assessment carried out by the independent Scientific Panels and the Scientific
Committee of FSSAI, taking into account available scientific evidence, dietary exposure and
country-specific requirements and are substantially harmonized with the internationally
acceptednorms.
FSSAI has taken many measures to curb adulteration in the food products such as
awareness campaigns like “#No To Adulteration”, “How to Check for Adulteration” and also
provided funds for Mobile Food Testing Laboratory (MFTL) or “Food Safety on wheels”
(FSW), Food Safety Magic Boxes. The FSSAI has approved Rapid Analytical Food Testing
(RAPID) Kits and published Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART) Booklet to detect
adulteration.
Further, 15 notices have been issued to FBOs during FY2026–27 for violations of the
FoodSafety andStandards (LabellingandDisplay) Regulations, 2020.Detailsof enforcement
action taken by the State/UT Food Safety Authorities against non-conforming food products
includingcases of adulteration, during 2025-26, are asunder:-
Details of Enforcement fortheyear 2025-26 includingBeverages andCaffeinated
Beverages
Civil Cases CriminalCases
No. of Samples
No. of Samples
Year foundnon- Decidedwith No. of
Analysed
conforming Penalty Convictions
2025-26* 223,808 40023 31878 1918
*Thedata forFY2025–26 isprovisional andsubject to revision basedon theoutcome of
furtherlabtestingandcourtproceedings.
Note- The cases launched and penalties raised may include the data of the samples analysed
inthe previous year.
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