Nestle disappointed over Centre's class action suit

Conflict intensifies as verdict on recall of Maggi case in Bombay High Court is due tomorrow

Reacting to the consumer affairs ministry's notification on a class action suit against Nestle India, the food major on Wednesday expressed 'disappointment' over "the unprecedented step of filing of a complaint before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC)".

The company said: "Nestle India maintains the highest standards of food quality and safety in the manufacture of all its products. Consumer trust has been of paramount importance to Nestle over the 103 years of its presence in India."

Read more from our special coverage on "NESTLE MAGGI CONTROVERSY"

• Unlike Nestle, milk cooperatives and FSSAI negotiate truce early
• FSSAI seizes 200 quintals of Maggi from Lucknow warehouse
• Centre set to seek Rs 426 cr in damages from Nestle
• Maggi samples fail test in Lucknow laboratory: Official
• Never said Maggi will return to retail shelves soon: Paswan

Nestle's statement comes a day ahead of the Bombay High Court verdict on whether or not the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India was right in banning Maggi noodles. The department of consumer affairs under the ministry of consumer affairs, food & public distribution had issued a statement saying the authorities had filed a class action suit against Nestle for unfair trade practices and sales of defective goods. The suit also seeks at least Rs 640 crore in damages from the food major. The ministry said it was filing the class action suit "on behalf of the large number of consumers of Maggi in the country" against Nestle.

On the recent test reports from the Central Food Technological Research Institute at Mysuru finding Maggi noodles to be containing lower than the permissible level of lead, Nestle said: "We have a stringent programme to test the ingredients that go to make Maggi noodles. In recent months, we had 2,700 samples of Maggi noodles tested by several accredited laboratories both in India and abroad. Each one of these tests has shown led to be far below the permissible limits." Nestle added that Maggi noodles made in India have been tested and found to be safe for consumption by the authorities of several countries. It also clarified that since it does not add monosodium glutamate (MSG) in its products, the "No Added MSG" statement was not an attempt to mislead consumers. Meanwhile, there have also been reports of the US Food & Drug Administration clearing Maggi noodles.