When your child has diarrhoea, you reach for ORS — trusting it to save their life.
But what if that “ORS” isn’t ORS at all?

Across Bengaluru, pharmacies — and even food delivery apps like Swiggy — are quietly selling sugar-loaded drinks falsely labelled as ORS, defying a nationwide ban. These products don’t just fail to treat dehydration — they can make it worse.

So here’s the question: Why is swiggy still listing them? Are they waiting for permission from the Prime Minister’s office to do the right thing?

⚠️ BANNED BUT STILL BEING SOLD

The FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) has banned food and beverage brands from mislabelling sugary electrolyte drinks as ORS.

Yet, in Bengaluru, india Herald’s on-ground investigation revealed that pharmacies and apps continue to push these banned products.

Our team visited 11 pharmacies between sunday and Tuesday. Out of them, five handed out tetra packs boldly using the term “ORS” — but carrying a tiny disclaimer: “Not an ORS.”

In other words, they admit it’s fake — but only in fine print.

🧃 A DEADLY MIX OF sugar AND DECEPTION

Let’s be clear — these drinks are not medicine. They’re sweetened beverages disguised as medical relief.

Doctors explain that a true WHO-approved ORS solution contains:

• Sodium chloride: 2.6 gm

• Potassium chloride: 1.5 gm

• Sodium citrate: 2.9 gm

• Glucose: 13.5 gm (per 21.8 gm sachet)

• 
  

But these fake “ORS” tetra packs? They have up to 12 gm of sugar — nearly 10x the safe limit.

Dr. Kritika Agarwal, a Bengaluru paediatrician, says this isn’t just misleading — it’s dangerous.

“Excess sugar draws water from the body into the intestines, worsening dehydration. In children, it can be fatal.”

🧠 THE SCIENCE THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW

The magic of ORS lies in its osmolarity — the delicate balance between sugar and salts.
The WHO-approved formula has an osmolarity of 245 mOsm/L, just enough to allow the body to absorb water efficiently.

But these pseudo-ORS drinks? They overshoot that balance with excessive sugar, turning a life-saving formula into a toxic cocktail.

It’s not hydration — it’s a scam in a tetra pack.

🏥 PHARMACIES PLAYING DUMB — AND DIRTY

At a major pharmacy chain in HSR Layout, a staffer openly admitted,

“Each of our branches still has two boxes of these non-compliant drinks to clear.”

In Malleswaram, a hospital pharmacy tried to sell a banned pseudo-ORS claiming it was “WHO formula with calories.”
In Richmond Town, another store offered a fruity “Electro” drink — priced ₹4 higher than genuine ORS packs.

In Dasarahalli, when questioned, the pharmacist quietly replaced a fake ORS with a real one.

They know. They just think you don’t.

🔥 SWIGGY’S SILENCE IS DEAFENING

Even after the ban, fake ORS drinks are available for home delivery on Swiggy’s platform.
The question is simple: Why?

When the FSSAI has made it illegal, when doctors are raising alarms, and when lives — especially children’s lives — are at stake, what’s stopping swiggy from acting?

The silence from Swiggy’s corporate offices isn’t just ignorance — it’s complicity.

⚖️ MANUFACTURERS AND LOOPHOLES

According to sources, most manufacturers of these banned ORS drinks are based in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Assam.
One karnataka manufacturer has already been served a notice to recall stocks within 15 days.

But here’s the catch — auditing pharmacies isn’t under FSSAI.

It falls under the Drug Control Department, which means enforcement slips through bureaucratic cracks while banned products continue to flow freely.

🧩 EXPERTS CALL IT WHAT IT IS — FRAUD

Food safety expert Mamatha Mishra says the FSSAI’s move clarifies one thing:

“Only WHO-recommended formulations qualify as ORS. Everything else is sugar water pretending to be medicine.”

She adds, “The real ORS is classified as a drug — not food — because it’s a therapeutic, life-saving formula. Anything else using the term ‘ORS’ violates regulatory standards.”

Her advice? Learn to read the label. Because that small line saying “Not an ORS” could save a life — maybe your child’s.

💣 FINAL WORD: THIS ISN’T A DRINK. IT’S A DISGRACE.

What’s unfolding here isn’t a marketing gimmick — it’s a public health crime.
Every fake ORS sold through a pharmacy or app like swiggy is a betrayal of trust.

It’s not just about money — it’s about lives on the line, especially the smallest and most vulnerable.

swiggy can’t pretend ignorance anymore.

The FSSAI has banned it. Doctors have warned against it.
If they still choose to profit from it, it’s not business. It’s blood money.