The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has created a new category of alcoholic beverages called “Ready to Drink” or low-alcohol beverages. These beverages have an alcohol content of 0.5-8%.
The FSSAI has also laid down the standards, composition, and definition of these beverages, as well as the safety parameters to be adopted.
Low-alcohol beverages can be made from spirits, a mixture of spirits, or any alcoholic beverage other than wine and beer. They can have natural, nature-identical, or artificial flavors, and/or food additives permitted under the regulations concerned. They can also be mixed with fruit or vegetable juice, with or without added sugar/salt, and with or without carbonation.
Industry players have welcomed the move, saying that it will help to clarify the market for low-alcohol beverages and ready-to-drink products. They believe that this could lead to increased sales and more opportunities for these products.
In addition to creating the new category of low-alcohol beverages, the FSSAI has also defined what should constitute “country liquor” or “Indian liquor” and the constituents that should go into its making.
Country liquor or Indian liquor is an alcoholic beverage obtained from distilling fermentable carbohydrates of agricultural origin. It can be made from fermented molasses, jiggery (gur), a mash of cereals, potatoes, cassava, fruits, juice or sap of coconut and palm trees, mahua flowers, or any other carbohydrates of agricultural origin.
Blended country liquor or blended Indian liquor is a mixture of an alcoholic distillate, rectified spirit, or neutral spirit.
The FSSAI’s decision to create a new category for low-alcohol beverages and to clarify the definition of country liquor is a positive step for the Indian alcoholic beverage industry. It will help to create a more streamlined and efficient market for these products, which could lead to increased sales and more opportunities for businesses.