Delhi High Court Bans Sale of Electrolyte Drinks Using 'ORS' Label Due to Public Health Concerns
November 13, 2025
New Delhi shook with a swift order from the Delhi High Court on Wednesday! The court refused to give any time to a company to sell its existing stock of electrolyte drinks called ORSL. Why? Because FSSAI banned using 'ORS' label on drinks unless they meet strict medical standards.
A bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya shouted, "Sorry, we can't permit it. Please recall it (stock). We will not permit it. We are sorry. The matter relates to public health concern." This shows how seriously the court takes the risk of misbranding.
The problem isn't that the drink is harmful, but that using the label ORS can fool people. Court said, "In rural areas, if a child has diarrhoea, parents buy ORS to save them. Your product says 'electrolytes' too. It may mislead people. It’s not harmful to someone fit, but could hurt those who aren't."
The judges praised ORS as a miracle that reduced child deaths in poor areas. "ORS brought a revolution to a poor country like ours," they said. They reminded how UNICEF once gave these for free to save lives.
The court sent notices to the Centre and FSSAI about the company’s petition challenging FSSAI’s October orders. FSSAI withdrew permission for food companies to use 'ORS' in products unless they follow the standard medical formula. The case will continue on December 9.
Senior advocates Sandeep Sethi and Mukul Rohatgi argued for the company JNTL Consumer Health India Pvt Ltd. They said the company sold ORSL drinks for 20 years and even registered the name legally. Sethi said they stopped making it recently but wanted to sell old stocks. Rohatgi added that the drinks don’t claim to follow WHO’s ORS recipe and that there is no complaint of adulteration.
However, officials from FSSAI and the Centre opposed this strongly. Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma called it a "serious matter of public health concern."
The petition argued that FSSAI’s sudden orders hurt a business running legally for decades without proper reason. But earlier, a single judge rejected similar pleas from Dr Reddy's Laboratories about its ORS-tagged product, stating that FSSAI’s rules protect public health.
On October 14, FSSAI had banned food and drinks from using 'ORS' in their names unless they follow strict medical formulas. They called using 'ORS' on sugary or electrolyte drinks misleading, especially for children, and against food safety laws.
Remember, ORS is a life-saving solution recommended by the World Health Organization to treat dehydration, making it a serious matter when brands misuse this trusted name!
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Tags:
Delhi high court
Fssai
Ors
Electrolyte Beverages
Public health
Misbranding
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