Hyderabad paediatrician Dr. Sivaranjani Santosh’s long-running campaign against misleading marketing of sugary drinks as ORS has finally paid off: the FSSAI has ruled that only WHO-approved ORS formulae may use that label. This is a major win for child health, regulation, and consumer safety.
Glimpse:
For nearly eight years, Dr. Sivaranjani Santosh has been fighting to protect children and consumers from harmful products falsely labelled as oral rehydration salts (ORS). Beverage companies had been marketing high-sugar drinks under names like “ORS”, “ORSL”, or “ORS FIT”, wrongly implying they were medical rehydration solutions. Through legal action including a PIL in the Telangana High Court, public awareness campaigns, research and pressure on regulatory bodies, Dr. Santosh and her allies compelled the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to issue a directive (October 2025) banning the use of “ORS” on any product label, admission or advertising unless the formulation exactly matches WHO-prescribed electrolyte & glucose standards. The order withdraws earlier permissions that allowed use of “ORS” with disclaimers, strengthening consumer protection substantially.
They say persistence wins battles. Dr. Sivaranjani Santosh’s is a story that proves it. A paediatrician in Hyderabad, she noticed a troubling trend: children suffering from dehydration and diarrhoea were being given drinks labelled “ORS” by parents drinks whose composition was nothing like the WHO-approved formula. Some were sugary fruit-flavoured beverages with minimal electrolytes, misleading packaging, and marketing. These drinks weren’t just ineffective they could make things worse.
From about 2017 onward, Dr. Santosh began raising concerns. She documented cases, alerted child health forums, worked with fellow doctors, and pushed for regulatory clarity. In 2022, she filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Telangana High Court. She asked FSSAI, the Drugs & Cosmetics authorities, and the Union Health Ministry to step in and halt the misuse of the “ORS” label on beverages that fail to meet scientific standards.
There were partial victories and setbacks. In 2022, FSSAI issued a directive restricting misuse of “ORS”. But then came industry pressure: trademark-holders and manufacturers sought allowances to use the term as part of product names with disclaimers like “This is not the WHO ORS formula.” These loopholes weakened the impact. Dr. Santosh kept up public awareness videos, social media posts, op-eds calling out misleading packaging and the risk to child health sugar worsens diarrhoea, incorrect electrolyte balance is dangerous.
Finally, on October 14-15, 2025, FSSAI issued a sweeping order:
No beverage or food product can use the word “ORS” in its name, brand, trademark, packaging, or advertisement unless it strictly complies with the WHO-approved ORS formula (correct balance of salts, glucose etc.).
Previous permissions allowing “ORS” usage with disclaimers are revoked.
The regulator also clarified that products labelled with “ORS” but misaligned with the standard formula are misbranded and misleading, violating provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act.
Dr. Santosh said after the order: “This victory belongs not to one person, but to people’s power, all the doctors, advocates, moms, and influencers who stood with me.” Her emotion reflected the years of effort and solidarity behind the scenes.
Highlighted Milestones in Her Eight-Year Battle:
| Year | Key Step / Event |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Dr. Santosh starts noticing misleading “ORS”-labelled sugary drinks in pharmacies and clinics, raising alarms clinically. |
| 2021 | Public awareness articles & medical interviews highlighting how popular “fruit ORS” drinks are too sweet, worsen diarrhoea. |
| 2022 | PIL filed in Telangana High Court; FSSAI issues first order restricting misleading ORS labels. But industry pushes back via trademark/disclaimer loopholes. |
| 2024-2025 | Legal actions deepen, Endocrine Society joins, public debates sharpen, regulatory bodies pressured, awareness spreads among parents, doctors. |
| October 2025 | FSSAI issues final directive banning use of “ORS” label unless formula matches WHO standards, all disclaimers removed, prior relaxations revoked. Big regulatory win. |
Importance & Impact:
Child Health Protection: Ensures that when parents see “ORS,” they get medical-grade rehydration, not sugary substitutes that can make dehydration worse.
Regulatory Clarity: Firm rules and legal backing now exist, closing loopholes exploited by manufacturers.
Public Awareness: The battle itself raised awareness about proper ORS usage, sugar content, and misleading labels.
Precedent for Consumer Safety: Sets an example for other labeling issues in food and health sectors how vigilance can bring regulation.
Appreciation & Support from HealthBuzz:
On behalf of all of us at HealthBuzz, we salute Dr. Sivaranjani Santosh. This victory underscores what one committed individual, backed by clinical evidence, public health ethics, and community support, can achieve. We thank her for:
Clinical courage: confronting not corporations, but misinformation.
Advocacy & education: empowering parents, clinicians, and policy watchers to ask: “Is what I’m giving my child truly ORS?”
Persistence: eight years is a long battle filled with legal, scientific, and policy challenges.
Impacting policy: what might have seemed technical label wording, standards compliance is now life-saving regulation.
To all the doctors, NGOs, parents, moms, journalists, and influencers who stood with her this win is yours, too. HealthBuzz is proud to amplify this milestone, and we pledge to continue reporting on enforcement, awareness, and ensuring that this regulation reaches every shop, pharmacy, and home across India.
“We have won the battle… The ORS tag must be reserved exclusively for WHO-compliant formulas. This decisive regulatory intervention will protect children.”
By
HB Team
Related News
