Paswan hints at early return of Maggi noodles

The popular Maggi instant noodles may soon be back on grocers' shelves, as the government has strongly hinted at lifting the ban on the Nestle product.

Consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Thursday he was hopeful of Maggi being back on the shelves soon, citing fresh tests by state-run laboratories.

The government had banned the country's largest-selling noodle brand after tests conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) detected higher than permitted levels of lead and monosodium glutamate.

"The latest tests conducted by the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) have found Maggi to be safe. I have a gut feeling it will return to the retail shelves soon," Paswan said referring to the tests run by the institute's Mysore laboratories.

The minister, however, clarified that consumer interests would be "paramount" on food safety even as he expressed doubt about how India might be viewed as an investment destination in the wake of the controversy. While Indian labs found the noodle unsafe, Singapore, the UK and and Europe have cleared it for consumption.

"I am worried. After the Maggi ban, the perception of the people has changed. Foreign investors will now think twice before investing in India. Our credibility is at stake," he said, adding, "All this is possible to be rectified only after addressing all concerns. The concerns of our consumers are most important."

He further said, ''The day before yesterday, the Prime Minister had also said whatever people say, we should maintain decorum on this issue (Maggi). Until we get the fact-finding done, there is no need to create unnecessary noise," he added.

Maggi accounted for as much as 85 per cent of all instant noodle sales in the country before its ban.

The minister assured the industry captains attending the chamber function on food processing that the NDA government did not intend to bring back an inspector raj which could hit investment. However, he asked industrialists to ensure quality standards and bring in "honest and transparent" norms.

Paswan said he also favoured setting up a single coordinated body to look into many overlapping issues to quicken product clearances by the government, especially in the food sector.

Meanwhile, the FSSAI has said it has not given any clean chit to the noodle brand. It rejected the findings of the Food & Drugs Laboratory of Goa as well as the Mysore lab, saying there were shortcomings in the tests.