Maharashtra 500 m school rule on energy drinks such as Sting (Jul 2026)

'Sting banned in Maharashtra' comes from a statement in the state Assembly on Friday 3 Jul 2026. Answering a question during Question Hour, Food and Drug Administration Minister Narhari Zirwal said that energy drinks such as Sting and other caffeine-rich or intoxicating substances would not be allowed to be sold within 500 m of a school campus, and that immediate action would be taken where they were found. He asked schools to run awareness programmes and directed the FDA to enforce the rule.

The minister also gave the Assembly the FDA's test results: of 27 Sting samples tested between April 2025 and May 2026, 10 were compliant, and of 115 energy-drink samples tested between April 2025 and March 2026, 63 met standards, one was substandard and six were misbranded. The rest were presumably pending; the reports do not say.

The rule rests on existing FDA circulars of 3 Oct 2024 and 17 Sep 2025 that already directed officers to inspect vendors within 500 m of educational institutions. On 4 Jul 2026 Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said a detailed order on items prohibited near schools and on school food standards would follow within days. Whether and when a formal order was issued has not been confirmed.

The rule came the same week as FSSAI's national direction that 'energy drink' is not a food category and that products must be labelled 'Caffeinated beverage'. Unlike Rajasthan, which prohibited named brands eight days later, Maharashtra has not banned any product. Its rule is about distance from schools and is enforced through the FDA's wider 2026 inspection drive.