A day before it ordered Nestle to stop the manufacture and sale of nine variants of Maggi Noodles, citing tests that showed “unsafe” lead levels, the national food regulator handed over to states a blacklist containing at least 32 products from Tata Starbucks, a cereal from Kellogg’s, poultry products from Venky’s and even a multivitamin from Ranbaxy. The list of around 500 products rejected by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was handed over to food safety commissioners attending the authority’s central scientific advisory committee meeting in New Delhi last Thursday.
Many of the products on the FSSAI list — obtained by The Indian Express — were found to contain high levels of sugar, caramel, salt or heavy metals, caffeine and iron fillings, said sources.
The Starbucks products on the list are mainly sauces and syrups, such as a dark caramel sauce, an international chocolate mix and chestnut-flavoured syrup, which go into the making of various kinds of flavoured coffee, tea and other beverages.
Tata Starbucks is a joint venture of Tata Global Beverages and Starbucks Corporation that owns and operates the Starbucks outlets in India. When contacted, a Starbucks spokesperson said the company was “diligently working with… FSSAI to provide the information relating to our pending applications they have asked for”. However, staff at two Starbucks outlets in central and south Delhi told The Indian Express that they were not aware of any of their products or ingredients being present on any such government list.
Asked about the company’s products on the FSSAI list, one store staffer said, “Some of these are syrups we use in a lot of our coffees. We are using a lot of syrups mentioned on this list including caramel, chestnut and hazelnut flavours, and vanilla and dark frappuccino powders.” Starbucks sources told The Indian Express that the rejection of product approvals by FSSAI was on “technical grounds”. “Some of the products on the list may still be in our stores because the rejection of approvals was not on safety grounds, but on technical grounds. We have not been asked to withdraw any products. We have already corrected the technicalities and submitted fresh approval applications.”
However, a note sent by FSSAI to state food commissioners on April 21 clearly directs officials to keep a check on products that have been denied approvals, with the authority warning that “instances have been noticed that a product is still being manufactured, distributed, sold, even after product approvals of the same have been denied by FSSAI…” The FSSAI list also includes dietary supplements labelled as suitable for specific age groups, including for children as young as 1-3 years, and linked to brands such as Amway.
Full list of rejected products
What’s more, officials admitted that during the short period of time that the FSSAI, which came into being in 2011, had to evaluate “hundreds of applications” from these companies, some of the products were already released in the market pending approval. On Thursday, the state commissioners were asked to “periodically keep watch on the updated list and take necessary action against any violators”.
The FSSAI list also includes:
1. Special K Red Berries cereal from Kellogg’s.
2. Ready-to-eat chicken items from Venky’s, including chicken Arabic style kofta and crispy chicken burger patty.
3. At least 13 weight gain or protein supplements, including Nutricia’s ProtineX and Zeon Lifesciences Ltd.
4. At least 150 supplements — hair growth products, immune-booster tablets, metabolism-enablers, beauty-enhancers, vitamin sprays, wellness products, natural fruit enzyme supplements and protein – including tablets and capsules of Ranbaxy’s Revital and Amway’s Nutrilite mixed drink flavour for children.
5. Nine variants of energy drinks from four companies, including Monster and Tzinga, a children’s energy drink, juices, and probiotic drinks.
The list also included varieties of ready-to-eat chapati and salad dressings, oils, daal, varieties of tea bags and leaves, cake, organic pulses and cereals, flavour-enhancing syrups, powders, and at least two hair growth products.
