More trouble surfaced for Nestlé India on Thursday as Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir joined Delhi in imposing a ban on the sales of the company’s best-selling product Maggi noodles citing health concerns after tests found impermissible limits of harmful contents like lead and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) in the instant noodles.
late on Thursday, Assam Principal Secretary for Health Chicken released a statement that chicken variant of Maggi noodles has been banned for 30 days in the State.
Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, also threatened action against Nestlé India, if samples sent to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for testing were found unsafe.
Paswan, who was in Ahmedabad for a road-show on completion of one year of the NDA’s term, said the Government had taken suo motu cognisance and asked FSSAI to conduct independent tests on MSG levels in the product.
“We are waiting for the FSSAI test results before we can decide on action to be taken against the product and people endorsing it. The FSSAI is expected to submit its finding to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission who will initiate proceedings,” he said.
The Centre has sought reports from all States on the controversy over the quality of Maggi noodles, Health Minister JP Nadda said.
The Health Minister said that once the Central Government gets the reports, a decision will be taken on the future course of action regarding the popular snack that has been pulled off sales counters in many States after high lead content was found in samples.
Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu banned the sales of Maggi for three months whereas Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir restricted the ban order for one month after some noodles samples failed lab tests. The States also ordered the noodle manufacturers Nestlé India to immediately withdraw the stocks
Apart from Maggi, the Gujarat Government also banned noodles produced by SK Foods under the brand name leong for a month. The authorities tested one sample each of instant noodles of Sunfeast and SK Foods.
“Twenty seven Maggi samples collected from different parts of the State were tested by Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration. The tests have shown that lead was present above the prescribed limit while MSG was also present,” Gujarat Health Minister Nitin Patel said while giving details of the lab tests.
Of the 27 samples, lead content in 14 of them was found to be 2.8 PPM to 5 PPM (particle per million). Presence of excess lead is harmful for health, he said.
The J&K Government in an order said that all the District Magistrates have been directed to impose complete ban on the sale of Maggi products in the State till the report of the samples tested are received.
“The Food Security Department has taken this decision as two of the 300-odd samples of the food product failed laboratory tests,” said Om Prakash, Principal Secretary (Health), Uttarakhand.
“The decision was prompted by the presence of MSG in the samples sent for laboratory tests to Rudrapur in Udhamsingh Nagar district,” he said. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which have also lifted samples for testing are awaiting results, before taking any action.
Meanwhile, Walmart and Metro AG have withdrawn Maggi noodles from their wholesale stores in India in the wake of food safety issues pertaining to the brand.
“Given our utmost focus on ‘food safety’ and ongoing concerns around this product, we have withdrawn the Maggi 2-minute noodles from our shelves across all 20 Best Price Modern Wholesale stores till further clarity from FSSAI and State Food safety authorities,” a Walmart Spokesperson said.
Germany-headquartered Metro AG has also discontinued Maggi sales in its 18 cash & carry stores across the country.
Interestingly, the Nepalese Government has also decided to impose a ban on importing and selling of Maggi, in its market for an undefined period. With noodles being a very popular dish in the Himalayan nation, Maggi, along with other domestic noodles, is likely to face strong food quality checks, officials here said. “Yes, we are putting a ban on importing and selling Maggi in Nepal following the controversy in India,” Uttam Kumar Bhattarai, Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture Development, told IANS on Thursday.