India bans Diageo brands over added flavourings
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has prohibited the sale of several spirits brands, including United Spirits’ Royal Challenge Whisky and McDowell’s No.1 Rum.
The FSSAI, which oversees food safety in India, prohibited the sale of certain alcoholic manufacturers’ products due to non-compliant laboratory reports citing the use of unauthorised flavours and ‘misleading’ age-related claims.
These issues included incorrectly labelling the alcoholic product, using external artificial or nature-identical flavours that ‘mask the product’s natural flavour and make it substandard’, and making ‘deceptive age claims’.
The notice was issued by the FSSAI on 10 July, citing 2018’s Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations.
Manufacturers flagged by the regulator include Diageo’s Indian arm, United Spirits. The company’s plant in Baramati, Maharashtra, was found to be non-compliant with regulations regarding McDowell’s No.1 Rum.
Additionally, United Spirits’ distillery in Madhya Pradesh was cited for issues related to its Antiquity Blue and Royal Challenge whiskies. According to The Brand Champions 2026 report, Royal Challenge is currently the fifth best-selling Indian whisky brand in the world.
McDowell’s No.1 Celebration Rum, produced by Associated Alcohol & Breweries in Madhya Pradesh, was also banned, along with Central Province Whisky.
Another producer in Madhya Pradesh, Inbrew Beverages, faced non-compliance, resulting in a ban on the sale of Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky and Old Cask Deluxe Rum.
Mohan Rocky Springwater, located in Khopoli, Maharashtra, received a ban on three variants of Old Monk Rum: The Legend, Gold Reserve, and XXX Matured Rum.
In Goa, inspections and sampling were conducted at the premises of Mandexi Distilleries & Breweries. Notices were also issued to six other manufacturers in Maharashtra regarding this matter, with the FSSAI stating that “further necessary action will follow soon.”
Raised claims
The FSSAI released a statement on 2 August addressing the matter, alleging that “a few manufacturers are found to add flavour externally, which mimics the product’s inherent aroma and taste”, therefore “misleading consumers”.
The regulator has identified that these added flavourings undermine the expected standards for spirits. Instead of developing flavours naturally through maturation or from base materials like molasses, malt, or grapes, some manufacturers opt for artificial flavourings.
The FSSAI deems such products not only substandard but also misrepresented by using the names of standard categories.
According to the authority, these products should be labelled as ‘rum-flavoured’ or ‘whisky-flavoured’ spirits, or ‘flavoured/premix rum’. It also noted that in some products, the front of the pack “completely fails to disclose the true nature of the product”.
For example, the FSSAI found Old Monk’s ‘seven years old blended’ rum to be misleading. The investigation revealed that the major ingredient of the rum is neutral (unmatured/unaged) spirit, while the matured rum spirit comprises less than 5% of the blend.
Old Monk’s labelling represents “a clear violation of the existing [FSSA] regulations”, which state that the age claim of the product should reflect the youngest spirit in the blend.
The FSSAI noted that “manufacturers are not prohibited from incorporating flavouring substances such as coffee, vanilla or other similar flavours, where such use is otherwise permissible under law and is supported by a legitimate technological justification.
“The present matter, however, does not pertain to a prohibition on the use of flavouring substances. Rather, it concerns the practice adopted by certain manufacturers of adding the flavour of the standardised alcoholic beverage itself, for instance, the addition of rum flavour in rum or whisky flavour in whisky.”
While the investigation uncovered several non-compliant manufacturers, the FSSAI emphasises that this issue does not reflect the entire industry.
Additionally, it pointed out that there are no internationally recognised manufacturing practices that allow for the addition of rum flavour to rum or whisky flavour to whisky to create the defining sensory characteristics of standardised alcoholic beverages.
Diageo challenges ruling
United Spirits submitted a Writ Petition to the Bombay High Court on 1 August, challenging an order issued by the FSSAI on 29 June 2026, under the FSSA Act 2006.
The challenge pertains to the sale of ‘one of the products’ manufactured at the company’s Baramati unit, which was deemed non-compliant with FSSA regulations regarding product labelling.
Diageo India stated in its filing that ‘the product labels comply with the current legal and regulatory framework in India and are consistent with established industry practices’.
The company has chosen not to provide further comments due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing legal matter.
The Spirits Business has reached out to Inbrew Beverages and Mohan Rocky Springwater for a comment.
In its statement on 2 August, the FSSAI noted that “based on the appeal by two manufacturers against the prohibition of sale, conditional revocation has been issued”, without naming them.
Citing a conditional relaxation of the sales ban, the regulator has allowed the two manufacturers to sell their existing stock by ‘clearly stating the true nature of the product’ on the front of the packaging. However, for any future production, a clear directive has been issued to prohibit the addition of identical flavours, such as rum flavour or whisky flavour.
In 2022, United Spirits sold its ‘Popular’ business of 32 brands to Inbrew Beverages for approximately 8.2 billion rupees (US$105.7 million).
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Source: www.thespiritsbusiness.com