Brand record
Hindustan Unilever (Horlicks, Boost): FSSAI record
Last checked 19 September 2026. A few details are still being checked against the original document.
Hindustan Unilever has no FSSAI ban, recall or notice on record as of 19 Sep 2026; it voluntarily dropped 'health food drink' from Horlicks and Boost in April 2024, and one independent study flagged Horlicks Protein Plus in November 2025.
- Classification
- No ban or recall found in official records
- Decided by
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
- Reference
- No order against HUL on record; context is FSSAI's 2 Apr 2024 advisory on 'health drink' categorisation
- Latest action
- 14 November 2025
- Last checked
- 19 September 2026details being verified
Hindustan Unilever premises at Garden Reach, Kolkata. Photo: Hindustan Unilever, Garden Reach.jpg by Soumava2002 (CC0). Brand names and logos belong to their owners and are used here to identify the product this entry is about. All photo credits.
Horlicks, Boost removed from 'health food drinks' category by HUL, renamed 'functional nutritional drinks'
We have not yet found this action in a published government document. Treat it as reported, not confirmed. If you have the order, send it to us.
Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.
Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe explain what has been reported. The report above is the best source we hold.
Key facts
- April 2024
- HUL removes 'health food drink' from Horlicks and Boost packaging; category renamed 'functional nutritional drinks' (voluntary)
- Regulatory orders
- None directed at HUL
- Independent test
- Citizens Protein Project 2 (Nov 2025): Horlicks Protein Plus 38.1 g protein/100 g; fructose 1.5 g/100 g not on label; taurine 26.5 g/100 g
- Recalls on record
- None
Where the claim comes from
The 'Horlicks banned' searches date from April 2024, when FSSAI told e-commerce platforms that 'health drink' is not a legal category and HUL responded by renaming Horlicks and Boost 'functional nutritional drinks'. Headlines compressed a voluntary relabel into a ban.
Hindustan Unilever's malt-drink brands sit next to Bournvita in the 2024 'health drink' episode, but HUL's part was voluntary. When FSSAI advised e-commerce operators on 2 Apr 2024 that 'health drink' and 'energy drink' had no definition under the FSS Act, HUL announced that Horlicks and Boost would drop the 'health food drink' descriptor and be marketed as 'functional nutritional drinks'. No order, notice or direction was issued to the company.
The only other item on record is a laboratory finding, not a regulatory one. The Citizens Protein Project 2, published in Medicine on 14 Nov 2025, tested Horlicks Protein Plus and reported 38.1 g protein per 100 g, undeclared fructose of about 1.5 g per 100 g and taurine at 26.5 g per 100 g. The study's authors raised taurine as a possible way of inflating nitrogen-based protein readings; the product's protein content itself was broadly in line with its label. Units and interpretation are to be checked against the paper.
HUL has no recall, test failure recorded by FSSAI, or licence action in 2024 to 2026. Neither Horlicks nor Boost is banned.
What this means for you
The category name changed, nothing else
Horlicks and Boost were not ordered off shelves or reformulated. HUL changed the descriptor on its own after the April 2024 advisory.
One lab flag, no regulator action
The CPP2 finding on Horlicks Protein Plus is an independent study result, not an FSSAI finding.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Official sources and primary records
- Horlicks, Boost removed from 'health food drinks' category by HUL, renamed 'functional nutritional drinks'NewsZee Business
- FSSAI asks all e-commerce food business operators to ensure appropriate categorisation of food products sold on their websitesNewsAll India Radio
- The Citizens Protein Project 2: the first publicly funded study of protein supplements in IndiaStudyMedicine (Wolters Kluwer) · 14 November 2025
- Citizens Protein Project 2 results site (per-product lab data)StudyCitizens Protein Project