Maggi: Two-minute noodles push Nestle into a 24-hour soup

Nestle India, the maker of the popular Maggi noodles, is in a soup with the Delhi government banning sales of Maggi noodles across the state after samples tested were found ''unsafe'' and the Kerala government removed the brand from state-run outlets.

The Delhi government on Tuesday said it would launch a case against Nestle India and impose a financial penalty for ''misbranding'' because samples of Maggi it tested were found ''unsafe''.

While only one of 13 samples tested by in a Delhi laboratory was deemed acceptable, lead levels in 10 samples exceeded the prescribed limit and five were inaccurately branded and contained MSG without a proper declaration.

In Kerala, the government has asked its 2,000-strong supermarket and grocery outlets to pull Maggi noodles out and at least 1,700 stores have already complied with the government directive.

It all started with FSDA authorities in Barabanki, in Uttar Pradesh, filing a first information report against the Swiss food giant after routine tests on Maggi noodles from local stores was found to contain lead and monosodium glutamate beyond permissible limits.

Maggi noodles is under investigation across the country after a routine test by VK Pandey, a 40-year-old Barabanki-based officer of the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration, found excessive doses lead and MSG in the samples.

Authorities in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Odisha, Gujarat, Bihar, Assam, Punjab, Karantaka, Delhi Tamil Nadu and Kerala have sent samples of Maggi noodles for tests to determine whether it is fit for human consumption .

Lead can be poisonous while MSG promotes sluggishness in the body and may also cause headache, nausea, increased thirst and chest tightness.

The FSDA tests of Maggi samples from Barabanki in March has developed into a storm that has led to the two-minute noodles swiftly disappearing from the shelves of stores across the country.

Amidst its woes in India, Nestle USA, which earlier this year said it was reducing artificial flavours and salt content from all its chocolate brands, is now removing artificial flavours and reducing salt by 10 per cent in many of its frozen pizza and snacks.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked all states to conduct tests on all variants of Maggi noodles, and submit reports by 5 June.

The centre on Monday also pulled up Maggi brand ambassadors Amitab Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta saying they would also be liable for action if the advertisements for the snack are found to be misleading.

G Gurucharan, additional secretary (consumer affairs), was quoted as saying that everybody associated with the 'misleading ad' on purported nutritive value of Maggi noodles was liable for action under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

Meanwhile,  Uttar Pradesh FSDA official Pandey said authorities in the state had filed a complaint case against Nestle's Nagal Kalan industrial unit in Himachal Pradesh, Delhi-based Nestle India and the company's FMCG managers.

''A complete report has been sent to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. which would now decide whether a total recall of the product is required or not,'' he said.

Nestle India, however, said in statements posted on its website that Maggi is safe as the results of ''internal and external tests show that lead levels are well within the limits specified by food regulations''.

It said samples of Maggi noodles from 600 product batches were sent to an external laboratory for independent analysis while samples from almost 1,000 batches were tested at a Nestle's laboratory.

Nestle said it was cooperating fully with authorities after officials in Uttar Pradesh informed it about elevated levels of lead in a sample of Maggi and MSG in products labeled ''no added MSG''.

The firm reiterated that it does not add MSG to Maggi though the product contains ''glutamate derived from hydrolysed groundnut protein, onion powder and wheat flour'' that can produce a positive result in a test for MSG.

It further said it regularly monitors all raw materials for lead and these tests had ''consistently shown levels in Maggi noodles to be within permissible limits''.