Business News : Old Monk, one of India’s most popular liquor brands, is off sale in Maharashtra from May-June this year. The sudden disappearance of this popular winter drink raises a simple question: Is it really rum? The country’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has said it is not rum. Following the controversy, the Khopoli-based manufacturer withdrew its plea from the Bombay High Court on Thursday. The company has said that it will now submit the new labels to FSSAI.
What is the regulator’s objection to the Old Monk label?
The whole controversy started with the bottle label. FSSAI claims that rum flavor has been added to the drink. However, the bottle label does not clearly state whether it is a flavored liquor or a rum-flavored spirit. According to the regulator, this concealment is misleading consumers. During a court hearing in September, FSSAI’s counsel Rajasekhar Govilkar clearly stated that it cannot be sold as rum.
The regulator objected to the label’s “7-year-old blended” label
He argued that a product made by adding rum flavor to a neutral spirit cannot be called rum. Additionally, the regulator objected to the label’s “7-year-old blended” label. The flavored product is not aged in any special wooden barrels, Govilkar told the court. FSSAI stipulated that it would allow its sale only if the label used “rum-like” instead of “rum”.
The company presented its case in court
Mohan Rocky Springwater Pvt Ltd, a company linked to the Mohan Meekin Group, had moved the Bombay High Court against FSSAI’s order in August. The company’s lawyer, Navroz Sirvai, argued that they were making authentic rum from neutral, rectified, distilled spirits of agricultural origin within the bounds of the law. On August 10, the court sought a response from FSSAI, and on August 31, refused to lift the ban on sales. After the court’s oral objections, the company presented revised labels on September 3. “Added flavor” was clearly written on the label and the “7 year old blended” tag was also removed.
Does the company now have to change its product?
But the regulator was not happy with this. He objected to labeling the product rum. The bench asked FSSAI’s counsel whether the company would now have to change its product. The lawyer said he could not comment on the matter. Finally, on November 5, the company withdrew its plea before a bench headed by Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi. The company said its appeal is pending with the statutory authority under the Food Safety Act, 2006. The company will now submit the new label to FSSAI, on which the regulator will take its decision.
Impact on other brands, Rs 350 crore loss to government
FSSAI’s action is not limited to Old Monk. The regulator has cracked down on all liquor companies that are selling spirits without proper labeling by adding rum or whiskey flavorings. United Spirits Ltd, the maker of McDowell’s No. 1, also approached the court in the matter, but later withdrew its plea. He did not reveal his next steps.
Liquor companies warned that the crackdown could bring the country’s entire liquor industry to a standstill. The government has also suffered significant losses due to this ban. On October 12, the company’s lawyer Venkatesh Dhonde told the High Court that the state excise department had lost revenue of around Rs 350 crore due to the stoppage of sales following FSSAI’s action.