In April 2023, a public relations storm broke over Bournvita.

That month, the influencer Revant Himatsingka, better known by his Instagram moniker, Food Pharmer, published a series of videos about the malt drink mix. He focused on one specific ingredient in the product: sugar.

Himatsingka noted that 100 grams of the product contained 37.4 grams of added sugar and questioned its categorisation as a “health drink”.

Mondelez India, which manufactures and distributes Bournvita, slapped Himatsingka with legal notices. The influencer, an online crusader against unhealthy ultra processed foods, took down his videos.

These developments drew wide attention and sparked outrage among the public. The Union government took notice. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights called on the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, or FSSAI, to investigate Mondelez’s claims about Bournvita.

Within a month, the regulator issued a press release declaring that it had flagged 32 fresh cases for misleading claims. The release did not specifically mention Bournvita but mainstream media outlets, quoting “official sources”, said the Bournvita controversy had sparked the government’s crackdown on misleading claims. The FSSAI indexed these articles and then uploaded them on its website.

In December that year, Mondelez announced that it was cutting sugar levels in the product from 37.4 grams per 100 grams, to 32.2 grams –...

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