TN bans four noodles brands, including Maggi for three months

A state consumer court has also asked to send notice to brand ambassadors and to the company

Tamil Nadu Government today banned manufacturing and selling of Maggi Noodles and four other noodles brands in the state for three months. The state said both production and selling of the four was banned with immediate effect. Reliance Select Instant Noodles is also in the banned list.

The State Government has said after various states have found high level of Lead in Maggi Noodles, following the news, Tamil Nadu Government has ordered to check Maggi Noodles and others Noodles samples in the state for three months. State also asked the companies to recall the products from the market immediately.

Sixty five samples were taken from different parts of the State by the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department of Tamil Nadu

In Chennai alone, 17 samples were taken, results for seven were submitted, of which in six samples it was found that the level of lead was above the permissible limit. The level should be 2.5 parts per million (PPM) for 10 lakh.

The statement said that besides Nestle Maggi, the State also checked other noodles including Wai Wai Xpress Noodles, Reliance Select Instant Noodles, Smith and Jones Chicken Masala Noodles and the level of lead were high in these samples also.

Following which the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has ordered to take action and the authorities have banned production and selling of all the above said Noodles in the State.

Meanwhile, reports stated that a consumer court at Madurai has asked to send a notice to the company to its brand ambassadors of Maggi including Amitabh Bach, Maduri Dixit. The Court also asked the State to submit a report before June 18th, while it gave time to the company and brand ambassadors to respond till July 6.

The development comes a day after it has lifted samples of Nestle's Maggi noodles and other brands from various parts of the State for testing, in the backdrop of the allegations that the product has found with high levels of monosolium glutamate and lead in some other parts of the country.

Meanwhile ,earlier officials from the State said that the action the department is taking against a complaint by an individual against the alleged contamination in NAN Pro-3, a baby milk power product of Nestle, he said that based on the complaints, samples were lifted from different locations in Coimbatore, since the complaint was from that district.

While the complainant has produced a lab report, which said that the packet of food product found as unsafe, the department is taking its own action and decided to test the samples on its own, said the official.

It may be noted that the Kerala and Haryana governments has taken tough call on the product. In a latest, the Delhi government has banned the sale of Maggi in the State for 15 days and asked the company to recall the stock supplied in the stores. However the Goa government has given a clean chit to the product after testing samples.