The maker of Old Monk rum, Mohan Meakin, has agreed to change the labels on its bottles following scrutiny by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The development comes after the food safety regulator raised concerns over the ingredients and ageing claims made on some liquor products. The issue has also affected the sale of certain liquor brands in Maharashtra.
According to a report by Bar and Bench, Mohan Meakin approached the Bombay High Court after notices issued by FSSAI halted the sale of Old Monk in Maharashtra.
FSSAI argued that Old Monk relied heavily on neutral spirits mixed with artificial flavourings, instead of naturally fermented sugarcane spirit. The regulator also questioned the claim on the bottle that the rum was “7 years old blended”.
To resolve the dispute over the halted sales, Mohan Meakin agreed to remove ageing-related claims from its labels and clearly mention the use of added flavourings on future bottles.
The Bombay High Court has directed the company to submit a newly designed sample label by September for review.
However, there is no interim stay on the FSSAI order prohibiting the sale.
Meanwhile, recently, FSSAI has barred the sale of certain variants of several popular liquor brands, including Old Monk, Antiquity Blue Whisky, Royal Challenge Whisky and Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky, after finding that they contained artificial flavouring that did not comply with prescribed manufacturing standards, Reuters reported.
The regulator said its tests found that some products manufactured by Diageo India’s United Spirits, Inbrew Beverages and Mohan Rocky Springwater used external artificial or nature-identical flavours.
According to FSSAI, these flavours were used to achieve the taste and aroma of alcoholic beverages instead of relying on natural ingredients and proper maturation processes.