Nestle India on Wednesday said it has not received any order from the central or any state FDA authority for recall of its Maggi noodles as the controversy over safety issues deepened.
“We have not received any official communication from the authorities so far,” the company said in a BSE filing.
It further said: “We wish to state that we have till now not received any orders from any state/Centre FDA authorities to recall Maggi noodle products in the market except an order from the Uttar Pradesh FDA dated 30.4.2015 asking us to recall a batch of Maggi noodles manufactured in February 2014, which had already reached the ‘Best Before date’ in November 2014.”
Meanwhile, Kishore Biyani-led Future Group on Wednesday stopped selling Maggi in its retail stores.
“In the interest of consumer sentiment and concerns, we have taken Maggi noodles off the shelves from all our stores for the time being. We will wait for more clarity from authorities to take any further course of action,” a Future Group spokesperson said.
Modern trade retail outlets like Big Bazaar contribute a large chunk of sales for FMCG firms, including Nestle.
Nestle India, which has been at the receiving end with several state governments ordering tests to find out lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG) content in Maggi noodles, said it’s “cooperating with the authorities”.
On Tuesday, the Delhi government decided to initiate a case against Nestle India after it found samples of Maggi noodles “unsafe” for consumption. The probe into alleged lapses has already widened to different parts of the country.
However, Nestle India claimed that it has got samples tested in an external laboratory as well as its in-house one, and the product is found “safe to eat”.
In Karnataka, Health Minister U T Khader said officials have been directed to randomly lift samples of Maggi noodles for laboratory testing. Haryana, too, ordered the same. The West Bengal Food department has convened a meeting tomorrow to take a call on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is undertaking more tests in the wake of the findings of Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration.
Earlier this week, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said strict action will be taken for any violation.
A case has already been lodged against Nestle India by UP food regulator FSDA in a Barabanki court in UP.
Actors Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta were also separately dragged into the matter for endorsing the noodles brand.
| 1 | In April, the food regulator of Uttar Pradesh, UP FDA had ordered recall of a batch of about 2 lakh packs of the Maggi instant noodles due to higher than permitted levels of lead and food additives. |
| 2 | After Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra governments too sent samples of Maggi to the laboratory for food safety tests. |
| 3 | On May 29, taking a “serious” note of quality issues related to global giant Nestle’s famous noodle brand Maggi, the government asked the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to look into the matter. |
| 4 | Meanwhile, Hindi actors Madhuri Dixit, Amitabh Bachchan and Preity Zinta, who endorse Maggi were served legal notice on the claims made in the advertisement. |
| 5 | On May 30, Madhuri Dixit tweeted that she met officials of Nestle and the company has reassured that "they adhere to stringent testing for quality and safety and are working with the authorities closely.” |
| 6 | The same day, the Food Safety and Drug Administration of the U.P. government filed a case against the manufacturing company, Nestle India Ltd., and five others, including the Barabanki store from where samples with excess lead were seized. |
| 7 | A complaint was filed in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Barabanki, on May 30, against cine stars Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta for endorsing Maggi noodles. The complaint, filed by lawyer Santosh Kumar Singh, says that by endorsing Maggi the film stars have misled people. |
| 8 | The Uttarakhand Food Safety Department too collected samples of the noodle brand from the company’s plant at Pantnagar in the State. |
| 9 | The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has collected more samples of Maggi from different states for testing. |
| 10 | The Consumer Affairs Ministry Additional Secretary G Gurucharan says "brand ambassadors would be liable for action if advertisements are found to be misleading.” |
| 11 | Nestle India said it has got tested samples of the noodle brand in an external laboratory as well as in-house and the product has been found “safe to eat” with lead levels within the permissible levels for consumption. The company was, however, silent on presence of the taste enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG). |
