‘Adding rum flavour to rum’: Here’s why FSSAI banned 3 Old Monk variants, Antiquity Blue, Royal Challenge

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), India’s food safety regulator, has banned the sale of three variants of India’s most popular alcohol brand, Old Monk, along with the products of some other alcoholic beverage brands in the country, for their use of artificial flavours instead of using proper ageing methods as well as the required ingredients to achieve their taste and aroma.

The FSSAI, in a press release issued late on Sunday, has said that while it allows natural flavouring substances to be added to alcoholic drinks, its tests have revealed that some factories of Diageo, which is India’s biggest alcohol company by market share, as well as Inbrew, were adding flavours of the alcoholic beverage itself to their flavours, like adding rum flavour to rum itself.

“There is no internationally recognised manufacturing practice whereby rum flavour ⁠is added to rum or whisky flavour is added to whisky,” the FSSAI said.

“Few manufacturers are found to add flavour externally, which mimics the product’s inherent aroma and taste, and sell the same as a standard product, thereby misleading consumers. The potential need for the addition of such flavour is observed due to an existing malpractice wherein manufacturers, instead of creating products through maturation and/or from base materials such as molasses, malt, or grapes to develop their flavour naturally, use spirit/neutral alcohol primarily, which has no specific flavour and therefore add flavour externally,” the FSSAI said.

“Such products are not only sub-standard but are also misrepresented by using the names of standard categories. At best, they can be identified as Rum-flavoured Spirit or Whisky-flavoured Spirit, etc.,” it observed.

What do laboratory findings say?

Laboratory tests of rum and whisky from several manufacturers have revealed that these products are substandard due to the presence of external artificial or nature-identical flavours, the FSSAI said.

Laboratory report clearly noted down, “the addition of artificial flavours is masking its natural flavour and making the product substandard,” it said, adding that these products should have ideally been named “flavoured/premix rum”.

Which popular rum and whisky brands does the FSSAI ban?

1. Three variants of Old Monk, namely, The Legend, Gold Reserve, XXX Matured Rum manufactured by M/s Mohan Rocky Springwater, Khopoli unit.

2. McDowell’s No 1 Rum manufactured by M/s United Spirits, Baramati.

3. Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky, Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum manufactured by M/s INBREW Beverages, Madhya Pradesh.

4. Central Province Whisky, McDowells No. 1 Celebration matured XXX Rum manufactured by M/s Associated Alcohol & Breweries, Madhya Pradesh.

5. Antiquity Blue Whisky, Royal Challenge Whisky, manufactured by M/s United Spirits, Madhya Pradesh.

Besides these, inspections and sampling have been conducted on the premises of the Goa-based M/S Mandexi Distilleries & Breweries.

Notices have also been issued to six other manufacturers in Maharashtra, and further necessary action will follow soon, the FSSAI said.

What is the issue with Old Monk?

Old Monk famously writes on the label of its Old Monk XXX Rum variant that their rum is 7 years’ blended. The FSSAI has called this claim ‘deceptive’.

It said that the major ingredient of this product is neutral (unmatured/unaged) spirit. In contrast, the matured run spirit used in it is a minor ingredient (less than 5% of the total product, as per the investigation findings).

“This is also a clear violation of existing regulations, as the age claim of the spirit should be from the youngest spirit in the blend as per FSS (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations. 2018,” the FSSAI said.

The FSSAI also clarified that adding natural and nature-identical flavouring to alcohol products is permissible. Flavours like coffee, vanilla, or other similar items can be added to alcohol, but adding rum flavour to what is being sold as rum is like adding tea flavour to tea and coffee flavour to coffee.

What did Diageo tell the Bombay HC regarding the ban?

Diageo India had moved the Bombay High Court against an FSSAI order dated 29 June issued under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

In their writ petition, the company claimed that there were no legal hurdles to the declarations on their product labels under the FSSAI scanner, and also said that their method is consistent with long-standing practices in the Indian alcohol industry.