Nigeria’s Bournvita is categorized as food drink, says Emokpaire
By Felicia Nwosu
Morolake Emokpaire, the Head of Marketing for Cadbury Nigeria Plc., a subsidiary of Mondelez International, with responsibility for West Africa, has clarified that Nigeria’s Bournvita brand is categorized as a food drink.
Emokpaire’s clarification is coming on the heels of a purported report making the rounds in some foreign dailies, especially in India, that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had instructed all e-commerce websites to remove all drinks/ beverages, including Bournvita from the category of health drink on their platforms.
The fear is also coming after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, a statutory body constituted under section (3) of the commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, after its inquiry under Section 14 of CPCR Act, 2005, concluded that there is no “Health Drink defined under FSS Act 2006, Rules and regulations as submitted by FSSAl and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd.
To deepen the trust of consumers, MARKETING EDGE, the industry watchdog, investigated further to know if the directive will in any way affect Nigeria’s Bournvita brand.
Speaking with the magazine, Emokpaire while clarifying the issue also allayed the fears of lovers of Bournvita, assuring them that the leading cocoa drink will not in any way be affected. The Head of Marketing for Cadbury Nigeria Plc after checking with her regulatory team, explained that such will not be applicable to Nigerian made Bournvita brand, since it is not regarded or categorized in anyway as a health drink but as food drink by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
“It won’t affect Nigeria’s Bournvita in any way because, in Nigeria, Bournvia is not regarded or categorized in anyway as a health drink, but as food drink. We are bound by the laws, the code and Act where NAFDAC was registered under.
“NAFDAC regulates, registered and categorized us as a food drink, so we have quality parameters in place for the acceptable limits of sugar, fat, and protein that are in the finished product. The health claims are not acceptable by the regulatory authorities, and we also do not categorize Bournvita as a health drink,” she added.
It would be recalled that recently, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in India, had asked all e-commerce websites to remove all drinks/ beverages, including bournvita, from the category of health drink on their platforms.
To effect this into action, the FSSAI therefore warned e-commerce sites using incorrect terms that can mislead consumers to desist from doing so. They tasked all e-commerce Food Business Operators (FBOs) to rectify by removing or delinking such drinks or beverages from the ‘Health Drinks/ Energy Drinks’ categories.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Comment
No comments found.