Fake ORS drinks have now been banned in India. After 8 years of hard work of Dr. Shivranjani Santosh, FSSAI has ordered that now no company will be able to call its product ‘ORS’ without WHO standards.
ORS New Rule: A historic decision has been taken regarding food items in India. For a long time, people were complaining that many companies were selling their sweet drinks and juices in the name of ‘ORS’ (Oral Rehydration Salts). This led consumers to misunderstand that these were beneficial for health, whereas in reality they contained too much sugar, which was harmful to health. Now FSSAI has taken strict steps to stop this. This big change has been possible because of the continuous hard work and struggle of a woman, Shivranjani Santosh. Now you would also like to know what is this new rule and who is this woman and how did she raise her voice against it, so let us know about her.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has now taken strict action on this. On October 14, 2025, FSSAI issued an order that now no company can write ‘ORS’ or ‘Oral Rehydration Salts’ on its product if it is not made as per the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO). With this order FSSAI has canceled all the old permissions given earlier. This means that now no company will be able to use the ORS name even after giving a disclaimer.
Dr. Shivranjani Santosh is a well-known Pediatrician in Hyderabad. He noticed that many companies were selling sweetened drinks and fruit juices as ORS. This led parents to think that these drinks were good for children. But in reality, these drinks had very high sugar content and their sodium, potassium and glucose balance was completely different from WHO standards.
Dr. Santosh fought continuously for 8 years to stop this wrong thing. He launched an awareness campaign on social media and then filed a PIL in the Telangana High Court in 2022. He said in his petition that these sweet drinks are dangerous for children and diabetic patients, because they contain too much sugar and too little salt and minerals.
After hearing the petition of Dr. Santosh, the court paid attention to this issue. After this, in 2022, FSSAI warned companies not to misuse the name ORS. However, later the rules were relaxed due to opposition from some companies. But Dr. Santosh did not give up and continued raising this issue. Finally, on October 14, 2025, FSSAI issued a strict order and immediately implemented this rule for all companies.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), original ORS contains 2.6 grams of salt, 1.5 grams of potassium chloride, 2.9 grams of sodium citrate, and 13.5 grams of glucose (sugar) in 1 liter of water. By drinking ORS the deficiency of water and salt in the body is quickly compensated. It is very effective in preventing dehydration, especially when the body sweats excessively due to diarrhea, vomiting, fever or sunlight.
