HC refuses to bail out Maggi

Nestle India whose Maggi instant noodles has been banned in India over excessive content of lead and MSG tastemaker has failed to get relief from the courts.

The Bombay High Court has refused interim relief to food giant against a government ban on Maggi noodles.

A division bench of Justices VM Kanade and BP Colabawalla, hearing a plea of the Indian arm of the Swiss multinational, was of the view that since Maggi products had already been withdrawn from the shops following the order, there was no need to grant a stay on the ban.

The bench which heard Nestle's plea on Friday scheduled the next hearing for 30 June.

The court, however, directed the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to file affidavits within two weeks over concerns raised by Nestle.

The company had moved the high court challenging the ban imposed by a 5 June order of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banning nine variants of the popular instant snack.

Nestle had also questioned a similar order by the Maharashtra government prohibiting the sale of these products on the ground they were unsafe and harmful to the health of people.

The bench said the authorities were entitled to prosecute the company in case of procedural lapses and if they were not satisfied with the reply of Nestle to the food authorities.

However, in case if Nestle was to be prosecuted, the judges asked the authorities to give 72 hours notice to the company which had filed an appeal against the impugned orders.

Nestle India Ltd told the Bombay High Court that the orders of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, banning nine variants of its popular "Maggi" noodles were "drastic", ''stringent'' and "arbitrary."

Senior advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing on behalf of FSSAI, argued that the food authority was well within its rights to issue the order.

He said though Nestle claims to be a ''socially responsible'' company, it spends a mere Rs1.19 crore on food safety measures but spends Rs445 crore on sales and promotion and Rs195 crore on advertising annually.