The Bombay HC on Tuesday orders to release the Starbucks’ Syrup consignment, which was held on the Nhava Sheva port early in April this year. The hold was imposed by India’s apex food regulator, Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI).
The Apex body FSSAI has blocked the consignment of syrups being used for making beverages at Starbuck’s outlets over the issue of the composition as per Indian standards. The company’s officials claim that the consignments with similar composition were cleared in the past by the authorities.
The US based coffee chain’s local joint venture; Tata Starbucks had filed a writ petition in the court seeking revoking of the stay. An FSSAI official claimed that the company was unable to provide details of the clarifications asked by the regulator.
As per FSS Act, Rules & Regulations, the FSSAI has taken stringent measures regarding labeling requirements. Under the law it was mandatory for the packaged food products to mention all the details including nutritional content on the packet. FSS Act is applicable for the food products to be sold in India, whether manufactured in India or imported from outside the country.
Last year, around Diwali, the FSSAI had blocked consignments of chocolate brands, including Mars, Godiva, Guylian and Lindt, on the ground that they did not conform to FSS (Packaging & Labelling) Regulations, 2011. Importers had merely pasted the stickers for nutritional information, however labelling guidelines says that all such information has to be printed on the label.
The honorable High Court considered the Starbucks’ argument that the coffee flavors come under proprietary food and should not be tested against the standards of syrups.
The HC under the bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice Anil Menon approved that the food items seized on the docks should be released with immediate effect. However, the court called FSSAI’s decision as arbitrary.
The court also clarified that the order pertained only to goods that were lying at the docks till date and for the further consignments.
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