The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has prohibited the sale of specific whisky and rum batches manufactured in Madhya Pradesh by United Spirits, Diageo’s Indian subsidiary, and Inbrew Beverages over regulatory violations concerning flavor additives and misleading labels. The regulatory crackdown impacts prominent brands including United Spirits’ Antiquity Blue Whisky and Royal Challenge Whisky, alongside Inbrew Beverages’ Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky and Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum.
Laboratory testing commissioned by the Health Ministry detected artificial or nature-identical flavoring substances added to imitate the defining sensory characteristics of standard spirits. Under the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018, adding whisky flavor to whisky or rum flavor to rum masks natural production qualities and misleads consumers. The regulator ruled that products containing such additives cannot be sold as standard spirits and must prominently feature clear front-of-pack disclosures, such as whisky-flavored spirit or rum-flavored spirit, before existing inventory can be cleared.
The enforcement drive also targeted deceptive maturation claims, identifying a rum variant labeled as 7 years old blended that contained less than 5 percent aged spirit, with the remainder consisting of neutral, unaged alcohol. FSSAI reiterated that age claims on blended spirits must legally correspond to the youngest spirit in the batch. Clarifying that flavoring remains permissible where technologically justified, the Health Ministry emphasized that the corrective action targets specific non-compliant manufacturers rather than the broader alcoholic beverage industry.