In a significant victory for child health and consumer safety, an eight-year-long solitary campaign waged by a Hyderabad paediatrician has reached a decisive stage, with Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) on Wednesday issuing a directive banning the use of the term ‘Oral Rehydration Salts’ (ORS) by beverage products.

Senior paediatrician Dr Sivaranjani Santosh has led the fight against the manufacturers retailing their beverages as ORS. Her advocacy stresses a vital point, which is that ORS is a specific drug formulation with a precise balance of salts, glucose (dextrose) that ensures rapid, effective fluid absorption.

The last straw in this ongoing battle over ORS label appears to have been the Madhya Pradesh incident, where several children died after consuming contaminated co

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