FSSAI accuses PepsiCo of ‘duping’ consumers by marketing Sting, Adrenaline Rush as 'energy drinks'

New Delhi: Justifying its crackdown on the use of energy drinks by PepsiCo India Holdings, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ((FSSAI) told the Delhi High Court that the company was deliberately marketing its high-caffeine beverages - Adrenaline Rush and Sting Energy brands - as energy drinks to 'dupe' consumers.

Pepsico is aware that its product must comply with the standards of 'caffeinated beverages' as all declarations required to be printed on labels of such beverages are being complied with. However, the company is deliberately marketing its products as 'energy drinks' to dupe consumers, despite being aware that there are no prescribed standards for the category, the food safety regulator said in its reply.

Stating that the use of the term 'energy drink' "may result in misbranding and misleading claims," FSSAI said that it had in its June 30 communication directed PepsiCo not to use the term as the name or descriptor of any food product to ensure strict compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the regulations framed under it.


It further added that the communication did not create any new prohibition and that no amendments had been made. "The prohibition of false and misleading labels is enacted by Parliament and operates on its own terms," the authority said in its 57-page affidavit.

Rejecting the company's request for an open-ended 12-month extension to exhaust its existing packaging material, FSSAI said that SC had affirmed that public health imperatives particularly the protection of children from the impulse consumption of high-sugar and high-caffeine products, override commercial timelines or corporate financial losses PepsiCo had approached the high court against the national food regulator's order directing manufacturers of high-caffeine beverages to stop using the 'energy drink' descriptor. Justice Amit Mahajan had stayed the FSSAI's order but also restrained PepsiCo from using the term on new batches of the products until the next hearing, which is scheduled on Friday.

The court had also sought a response from the FSSAI.

The FSSAI in its order had said that it did not recognise the category as no formal standards define 'energy drinks' and that claims such as "vitalises body and mind" and "helps in general weakness" were misleading. The regulator's order stated that all labels, marketing and ad campaigns with the term 'energy' should be pulled out within 90 days.