Criminal case filed against Nestle India over tainted Maggie

Food safety inspectors in Uttar Pradesh have filed a criminal complaint against Nestle India, after spot checks in April found excess lead in some packets of Maggi instant noodles, its top-selling brand.

The court in Barabanki has summoned Nestle India and retailer Easyday on 1 July when it will hear the case, sources at the local Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) said.

The ''contaminated'' batch of Maggi was collected by an UP FDA team from an Easyday store in Barabanki.

A Barabanki-based lawyer has also filed a case against Bollywood film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta for endorsing Maggi as a healthy food. The case, filed in the court of the chief judicial magistrate, is likely to come up for hearing on 19 June.

The FSDA in Uttar Pradesh had ordered a recall of a 200,000 packs of Maggie noodles at the end of April, after a spot check showed elevated levels of monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer, and lead 17 times above the permissible limit.

Nestle, continued to defend its product, saying it does not add MSG to the noodles, and that the noodles are safe to eat.

The FDA official confirmed recently that the complaint included Nestle India, as well as the manufacturing unit, the retailer selling the tainted packs, two Nestle managers and even Bollywood stars who promoted the 2-minute snack.

''We understand that consumers are concerned by reports that the authorities have found MSG in Maggie noodles. We do not add the flavour enhancer MSG (E621) to Maggie noodles sold in India. However the product contains glutamate derived from hydrolysed groundnut protein, onion powder and wheat flour. Glutamate produces a positive test result in a test for MSG,'' Nestle India said in a brief web site statement.

''We are fully engaged with the authorities in efforts to resolve the situation,'' it added.