Diageo, owner of Smirnoff & Johnnie Walker, under lens over alleged food-safety violations

Diageo India confirmed the regulatory action, saying some of its bottles had been quarantined by authorities pending further directions. The company said the bottles were sourced from a recycler approved by FSSAI and that mandatory tests had been conducted by the suppliers.

“Our products are completely safe for consumption … We are engaging with FSSAI for further direction on this matter,” Diageo India unit United Spirits said in a statement to Reuters.

FSSAI officials inspected the United Spirits factory in Bengaluru last week and were told that the Diageo unit was using recycled plastic bottles, according to a government memo. Inspectors, however, found that the required markings were missing.

The memo said the findings raised concerns related to food safety, misleading declarations and misbranding, particularly regarding the safety of finished alcoholic beverages. The seizure was carried out in the interest of public health, it added.

Recycled plastic markings at centre of latest action

During the inspection, officials found that Diageo’s plastic bottles carried markings identifying them as being made from polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. However, the bottles were required to carry a government-mandated recycled PET symbol indicating that the material was suitable for food use, according to another government memo.

The action primarily involved smaller plastic bottles used for liquor sold in quantities of around 180 millilitres. Most of Diageo’s larger liquor bottles are made from glass.

Products worth around $1.6 million, along with plastic material, were seized during the inspection, according to government documents. The action affected more than half a dozen brands, including DSP Black Deluxe Whisky, Smirnoff Zesty Lime Triple Distilled Flavoured Vodka and VAT 69 blended Scotch whisky.

The FSSAI did not respond to Reuters’ questions about the seizure. The regulator has recently increased scrutiny of food and beverage companies over labelling and compliance issues, including liquor firms and energy drink makers such as PepsiCo.

The latest development follows an August 8 Reuters report that revealed FSSAI had warned Diageo that a claim on one of its top-selling whiskies stating it was “matured in American oak casks” was misleading.

A confidential government notice dated July 20, reviewed by Reuters, said the product contained grain neutral spirit as its second ingredient after demineralised water, with a “major portion” consisting of non-matured spirit.

“The complete alcohol is not matured in wood cask as claimed on the label, and therefore misleading the consumer,” the FSSAI notice said. It also stated that any claim about the age of the spirit used in a blend should refer to the youngest spirit in the mix rather than the oldest.

United Spirits told Reuters that it remained committed to quality standards and was “actively engaging with FSSAI to address their queries on labelling”.

Diageo faces wider scrutiny over whisky labels

The FSSAI has separately prohibited sales of Diageo’s Royal Challenge Whisky made in Madhya Pradesh, along with some whisky and rum brands produced by Diageo and Indian company Inbrew in certain states, over allegations concerning artificial flavouring.

The action covered Diageo’s Antiquity Blue Whisky and Royal Challenge made in Madhya Pradesh, as well as Inbrew’s Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky and Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum.

The FSSAI notice also questioned Diageo’s use of the term “Scotch” on the label, saying the description was vague and did not clearly communicate the product’s characteristics. The regulator said the company should specify what type of Scotch was used.

Royal Challenge is one of Diageo’s top-selling products in India, with the company saying more than 4.5 million nine-litre cases are sold annually in the country. Its front label describes the drink as a blend of Indian grain spirit and imported Scotch matured in American oak casks.

The wider regulatory scrutiny has unsettled India’s $40 billion alcohol industry and has also affected other manufacturers. The FSSAI has increasingly focused on what it considers misleading labelling, flavouring and compliance violations across the food and beverage sector.

Diageo, which has described India as its “consumer market of the decade”, recorded revenue of around $3 billion in the country in the year ended March 2026. It is one of the two dominant foreign spirits companies in India, alongside France’s Pernod Ricard.

For now, the Bengaluru seizure adds another compliance issue to the company’s ongoing discussions with the food safety regulator. Diageo has maintained that its products are safe and said it is engaging with FSSAI to address the regulator’s concerns.