FSSAI bans use of ORS on drink labels

India's food regulator has issued a fresh advisory ordering food and beverage companies to remove the term “ORS” (Oral Rehydration Solution) from all product names, labels, and trademarks, even when used with a prefix or suffix.

In its latest directive dated October 14, 2025, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) clarified that using “ORS” for drinks or beverages, including fruit-based, non-carbonated, or ready-to-drink products, is a violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The decision follows a detailed review of earlier permissions granted in 2022 and 2024, which had allowed companies to use “ORS” in product names, provided they carried a disclaimer: “The product is NOT an ORS formula as recommended by WHO.”

However, the food regulator has now withdrawn those permissions, stating that the continued use of “ORS” on such products is misleading and deceptive to consumers, many of whom may mistake these drinks for medically approved rehydration formulas.

MISLEADING HEALTH CLAIMS UNDER SCRUTINY

The advisory notes that the use of “ORS” by beverage makers misleads consumers “by way of false, deceptive, ambiguous, and erroneous names or label declarations.”

Such practices, it said, violate several provisions of the Food Safety and



Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 and the Advertising and Claims Regulations, 2018.

The FSSAI emphasised that only medically formulated Oral Rehydration Solutions, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and listed under pharmaceutical norms, qualify to be labelled as ORS.

These solutions are used to treat dehydration caused by diarrhoea, vomiting, or heat exhaustion, and contain a precise balance of glucose and electrolytes.

In contrast, many commercial drinks and energy beverages marketed in India under “ORS-like” names are classified as food products, not medicines, and may contain added sugars, flavours, and fruit concentrates that do not meet WHO’s therapeutic standards.

COMPANIES DIRECTED TO COMPLY IMMEDIATELY

FSSAI has instructed all Food Business Operators (FBOs) to remove the word “ORS” from product packaging, advertisements, and brand names with immediate effect.

Non-compliance will be treated as misbranding and misleading consumers, punishable under Sections 52 and 53 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

This move comes as an effort to curb false health claims and ensure that consumers are not misled by marketing tactics that blur the line between nutritional drinks and medical formulations.