Warning message on liquor bottles from April 1

All liquor bottles will need to carry cautionary messages such as "Drinking is injurious to health" and "Don't Drink and Drive" on their labels from April 1, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said on Monday.

The food regulator has issued directives making mandatory for alcoholic beverage bottles of up to 200 ml to carry the labelled warning message with capital letters no less than 1.5 mm high while the bottles larger than 200 ml should have letters at least 3 mm tall.

It also said warning messages should be printed in English and one or more local languages as prescribed by the state governments.

A time period of six months is allowed for use of old unused labels and printed cans.

Also, alcoholic beverages manufactured before April 1, 2019 can be sold in the market till March 31 next year or finalisation of the parameter for yeast in beer, whichever is later.

--IANS

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