The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (MFDA) in western India said it had seized 1.6m cans of the product because it had detected caffeine levels of between 250 parts per million (ppm) and 300ppm.
Laws framed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of Asia (FSSAI) limit caffeine content in carbonated beverages to 145 ppm but exempts energy drinks on the basis of their classification as food items rather than carbonated beverages.
Madras High Court previously ruled that - since the FSSAI had not developed specific standards for energy drinks - as a proprietary food Red Bull did not need to conform to carbonated drinks standards, but it appears that regulators in Maharashtra are not heeding the court's decision.
An industry observer told our sister site that he expected Red Bull to take on the MFDA legally, given that the Madras High Court order forbids regulators from treating energy drinks as carbonated beverages.
The full FoodNavigator-Asia.com article is available here.