Hyderabad paediatrician warns of renewed risk as Delhi HC allows sale of existing ‘ORSL’ stock amid FSSAI order

Hyderabad-based paediatrician Sivaranjani Santosh, who has been at the forefront of a nationwide campaign against misleading Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) products, has raised fresh concerns after the Delhi High Court granted interim protection to JNTL Consumer Health (India), the manufacturer of ORSL.

The development comes amid an ongoing tussle between the health authorities and the companies marketing sugary beverages reportedly under the guise of medically approved ORS formulations.

The Delhi High Court’s interim order allows JNTL to continue selling its existing stock, valued at around ₹180 crore, until the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) completes its hearing on the matter. However, the production of new “high-sugar variants” under the ORSL label remains suspended.

Speaking to The Hindu, Dr. Sivaranjani said that companies may take advantage of the temporary stay to push misleading products into the market under the pretext of clearing old stock. “The order prohibiting the use of the term ‘ORS’ in such formulations has been in place for some time now. No new products can be introduced under that name. The companies have been allowed to clear old stocks, but that does not mean unrestricted sale everywhere,” she observed.

JNTL had approached the court after FSSAI, through orders issued on October 14 and 15, withdrew earlier permissions that allowed the use of ‘ORS’ with prefixes or suffixes in product trademarks. The regulator also clarified that only formulations adhering strictly to World Health Organisation (WHO) standards can be labelled as Oral Rehydration Salts or ‘ORS’.

Dr. Sivaranjani, who has repeatedly highlighted how such sugary drinks mislead consumers and undermine public health, stressed that even rebranded products must not be sold in medical or educational establishments. “Even if the label is changed, these drinks should not be sold in pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, or schools. If the companies wish to clear their remaining stock, it should be done only in supermarkets, and even then, the label must not mention ORS,” she said.

Her warning comes amid The Hindu’s ground-level check across several Hyderabad pharmacies, where it was found that when customers asked for ORS, the first product offered was the sweetened ORSL drink made by pharmaceutical companies, instead of the WHO-recommended rehydration solution.

For Dr. Sivaranjani, the court’s order marks another chapter in a long fight against what she describes as “a dangerous dilution of a life-saving medical formulation.” She said that the continued presence of such products on pharmacy shelves not only misleads consumers but also risks public trust in essential medical therapies.