Starbucks India faces the heat; Public concern over food safety

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June 18, 2015

Following the heave over the ban of Maggi Noodles, Indian social media is currently discussing the ban on a series of standard flavoring ingredients of Starbucks India by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

With the spread of a hash tag carrying "starbucks" Facebook users seem to be more concerned about the 'danger of MNC presence in the Indian food market'.

June 18, 2015

Following the heave over the ban of Maggi Noodles, Indian social media is currently discussing the ban on a series of standard flavoring ingredients of Starbucks India by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

With the spread of a hash tag carrying "starbucks" Facebook users seem to be more concerned about the 'danger of MNC presence in the Indian food market'.

The Indian regulatory authority has banned the use of 32 signature flavoring syrups of Starbucks India, along with 400 other products across various multinational brands. CEO of Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd, Avani Davda's message to Indian customers gets shared widely in this regard, as it features the company's concern over food safety, customer loyalty and legal authenticity.

"It is important for me to emphasize that all of the imported, globally standardized ingredients we serve in India, including those we are suspending, are safe and meet the standards in over 65 countries where Starbucks is operating." – She says in her message. Although, Starbucks has appealed to retain eighteen of their banned syrups back into the market use.

Popular pages also discuss the ban of similar products from Amway India, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Kellogg's India. As the news follows a controversy of cooked rat seen in KFC chicken, it took less than half an hour for "#tatastarbucks" to lead Facebook trending.

Even though Starbucks India suspended the use of banned syrups in India because they are "diligently working for food safety", the hashtag gets viral with others like #FSSAI, #Foodsafety, #Maggi, #DelMonte and #Kellogs.

The trending of issue shows the increased public concern on consumer food products and vividly exemplifies a brand new aversion towards the global food and beverage giants.


Courtesy: HT