Beetles in Cerelac spark alarm

It was alleged that weevils were found inside the pack

After Nestle's Maggie, now company's baby food Cerelac under the scanner of Food Safety and Drug Administration Department in Tamil Nadu. The Department will be picking up samples based on a complaint lodged by a software professional.

On Tuesday, Cerelac came under the scanner after weevils, a type of beetle, were allegedly found in a packet sold in Coimbatore, some 650 km from Chennai.

An email sent to the company was not responded immediately.

A software professional S Sriram has lodged a formal complaint with the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department of Tamil Nadu in Coimbatore after live worms were found in Nestle's baby food Cerelac, which he bought for his one year old son on Sunday. He and his wife opened the packet on Monday to discover the insects.

"The sample was seized and sent to government testing laboratory," said R Kathiravan, the district designated officer, Food Safety and Drug Administration Department in Coimbatore. He added, the buyer did not produce bill for the product, which he bought.

"We have sent them (Cerlac packets) to Food Analysis Laboratory in Coimbatore. We will also pick up a few more samples tomorrow," said Kathiravan.

"The worms look like weevils, which commonly infest wheat," said a food safety officer.

This is the second instance of worms or insects allegedly found in baby food, manufactured and sold by Nestle in Coimbatore city within a fortnight. On June 2, a taxi driver in Coimbatore found live larvae and worms in the packet of Nestle NanPro 3 milk powder.

However, Kathiravan said that the Food Authority have picked up three samples of NanPro 3 and the test results showed they were safe for consumption.