Karnataka and Goa on Sunday became the latest States to ban manufacture and sale of Nestle’s Maggi noodles following a central food watchdog directive.
“The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directed us to temporarily stop Nestle India from manufacturing or selling its noodles, including variants, in the state as a precautionary measure to ensure public health,” State Health Minister U.T. Khader said.
Goa also joined several other states in banning the sale of Nestle’s instant noodle brand ‘Maggi’ which is at the centre of a raging nationwide row over food safety concerns.
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar announced the ban keeping in view a similar measure taken by various other states though Maggi samples tested by Goa’s health regulator did not find any harmful contents in them.
“Since Maggi has been already banned across the country, we have decided not to take a chance and ban it in Goa,” he told reporters in Mapusa town near here.
“Though the results of Maggi samples tested in state-run Food and Drugs Administration’s (FDA) laboratory did not show presence of any harmful contents, the State Government has decided to ban sale of Maggi here,” he said.
Though preliminary results of tests conducted at a private lab in Bangalore indicated that the levels of lead in the noodles were below the permissible limit, the State health department advised stakeholders to refrain from marketing, distributing and selling the noodles, and also asked the public not to consume it.
“We have also directed the company (Nestle) to withdraw its Maggi stocks from all stores and retail formats across the State. Stringent action will be taken against offenders,” Mr. Khader said.
“We will consider further action against the company after we get the final test report from the central food laboratory in Kolkata,” Mr. Khader said.
After dithering initially, the health department on June 1 picked up samples of Maggi noodles from its manufacturing units and retail outlets, for tests by the state-run Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) at Mysuru and two private laboratories in Bengaluru.
When CFTRI declined to test the samples, citing jurisdiction and rules governing it, the health department asked the private labs to ascertain the lead and MSG (monosodium glutamate) content in Maggi noodles.
“We are waiting for test reports on MSG content in Maggi from the private labs, which is expected on Monday. If the tests confirm that it’s harmful for consumption, we will totally ban [Maggi]. We will also advise eateries to remove it from menu,” Mr. Khader reiterated.
According to the regulator FSSAI, the multinational company violated three mandatory conditions by having lead in excess of the permissible levels of 2.5 ppm (parts per million), misleading labelling information on the product label and selling Maggi oats masala noodles without its approval.
The private labs are Robust Materials Technology Ltd and TUV SUD labs, accredited to the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
| » | 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. |
| » | After Uttar Pradesh, 14 states conducted tests on samples of Maggi for food safety. Eight States, including Goa and Karnataka have banned it. |
| » | 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. The FSSAI has collected more samples of Maggi from different states for testing. |
| » | Meanwhile, Hindi actors Madhuri Dixit, Amitabh Bachchan and Preity Zinta, who endorse Maggi were served legal notice on the claims made in the advertisement. A complaint was filed in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Barabanki, on May 30, by lawyer Santosh Kumar Singh, saying that by endorsing Maggi the film stars have misled people. The Consumer Affairs Ministry Additional Secretary G Gurucharan says "brand ambassadors would be liable for action if advertisements are found to be misleading.” |
| » | 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.” |
| » | 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. |
| » | The Uttarakhand Food Safety Department too collected samples of the noodle brand from the company’s plant at Pantnagar in the State. Confirming the presence of MSG, the state banned Maggi. |
| » | 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). |
| » | Nestle India's stocks continued to slumpamid growing concerns about safety standards of its popular Maggi noodles. In a BSE filing, the company said it has not received any order from the central or any state FDA authority for recall of its Maggi noodles. |
| » | State-owned retail outlets in Kerala and Delhi have banned the sale of Maggi. Leading retail chain Big Bazaar has also reportedly taken them off from its shelves. |
| » | Army has issued advisory to its personnel asking them not to eat Maggi noodles and directed its canteens not to sell them till further orders. |
| » | Nestle on June 5, said it is withdrawing the product from Indian market due to “unfounded confusions” that has affected the consumer trust, but maintained that its noodles are safe for consumption and has no presence of MSG. |
| » | Singapore and Nepal have ordered local importers to temporarily suspend of the sale of Nestle’s Maggi noodles imported from India. |
| » | Maharashtra Food and Drug Minister Girish Bapat has announced a ban on the sale of Maggi with effect from on Saturday after lab tests proved presence of lead above the permissible level in the samples tested. |
| » | A day after banning Maggi noodles, food safety regulator FSSAI on Saturday said it will test samples of instant noodles across brands to ensure food safety. |
| » | On Sunday, Karnataka government banned the manufacture and sale of maggi noodles and Goa also followed suit by banning the product. |
