32 Starbucks products under scanner

32 Starbucks products under scanner

FPJ BureauUpdated: Saturday, June 01, 2019, 01:11 AM IST
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Mumbai :  After cracking the whip on Maggi noodles, the food regulatory body, the Food Safety and Standards Authority, has withdrawn approval of 500 products.

It has also blacklisted 32 products of TATA Starbucks, a cereal from Kelloggs, poultry products’ from Venkys and even a multi-vitamin from Ranbaxy.

The clamp down has come in the wake of excess levels of sugar, caramel, salt or heavy metals, caffeine and iron fillings found in these products.

While the Maggi row was raging, a variant of Maggi -– Maggi Oats Masala Noodles — was brought into the market without the product approval necessary under Section 22 of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act.

The 32 Starbucks products on the list are mainly sauces and syrups such as dark caramel sauce, an international chocolate mix and chestnut-flavored syrup; these go into the making of various kinds of flavored coffee, tea and beverages. According to FSSAI sources, sauces and syrups with specific flavours were found to have high quantities of sugar or caramel.

Speaking on the matter, Avani Davda, CEO, Tata Starbucks, said, “We are diligently working with the FSSAI to provide the technical information relating to our pending applications that they have requested. We import globally standardised product ingredients, with all applicable authorisations, and these are identical to the products that are served to our customers in over 60 countries where Starbucks operates.’’

The FSSAI list of the 500 ‘withdrawn’ products include Special K Red Berries cereal from Kellogg’s; ready-to-eat chicken items from Venky’s, including chicken Arabic style kofta and crispy chicken burger patty. Also blacklisted are 13 weight gain or protein supplements; 150 supplements of hair growth products; immune-booster tablets; metabolism-enablers; beauty-enhancers; vitamin sprays; wellness products; natural fruit enzyme supplements; and protein-inducing tablets. Also under the scanner are nine variants of energy drinks from four companies, including Monster and Tzinga, a children’s energy drink, juices, and probiotic drinks.

Further, the list includes varieties of ready-to-eat chapatti 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.

According to the FSSAI sources, the product approvals were rejected mainly due to the presence of ingredients deemed unsafe for consumption.

Many ready-to-eat products had high quantities of salt or heavy metals, many tea products had iron fillings, energy drinks had high levels of caffeine content.

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