FSSAI proposes new category for 'low alcohol' beverages

In a significant development, the food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has created a category of "Ready to Drink" or low-alcohol beverages, having an alcohol content of 0.5-8 per cent.

- SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

It has also laid down the standards, composition, and definition of such beverages as well as the safety parameters to be adopted.

Sources in the regulator said since 2018, the food safety standards for alcoholic beverages had existed but recently standards for low-alcohol and ready-to-drink products, including their definition and safety parameters, had been specified additionally.

"The said standard is an amendment in regulation and is not changing other existing definitions," the FSSAI notification said.