Again in 2020 and 2021, the Meals Security and Requirements Authority India (FSSAI) introduced a ban on the use​ of typical dairy phrases resembling ‘milk’ and ‘cheese’ for plant-based merchandise. It additionally directed plant-based producers to switch the product labels of all such merchandise and e-commerce platforms to delist these​ as nicely.

This order was efficiently stayed​ by the Delhi Excessive Courtroom later in 2021 after 5 firms took motion. Regardless of this, trade uncertainty stays immediately.

“The ban is basically nonetheless a movement in listening to on the court docket degree right now,”​ Rohit Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of Drums Meals Worldwide which was one of many 5 firms that contributed to the preliminary ban being stayed, instructed FoodNavigator-Asia​.

“Proper now there’s not but full readability on these rules by the regulators, and we’ve adopted the stance that we’ll respect the ruling.​

“So till there’s readability, we are going to keep in compliance with the preliminary order and have stopped utilizing the time period ‘milk’ for our oat and almond merchandise – we’ve moved to make use of different phrases resembling ‘beverage’ as an alternative.”​

Certainly, ‘beverage’ was one of many options​ made by FSSAI again when the ban was issued, highlighting this as nomenclature that was ‘indicative of the dairy analogue’s true nature’.​

Drums Meals Worldwide isn’t the one firm to have made this shift – many plant-based milk firms within the nation, together with each established companies and new start-ups.

As an illustration, Hershey’s SOFIT model has modified all its product phrases to ‘soya-based drink’ and ‘almond-based drink’, stressing its dairy-free and plant protein properties. No point out of soya milk or almond milk may be discovered on its web site or the product labels.