Nestle says Maggi will be back this month, all tests cleared

Nestle India on Wednesday said the "masala" version of Maggi noodles will hit the retail shelves as early as this month, having cleared all the tests ordered by the Bombay High Court at three accredited laboratories.

"We have received the results from all the three NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing Calibration Laboratories) mandated by the Bombay High Court to test newly-manufactured Maggi noodles samples," the company said in a regulatory filing with stock exchanges.

"All the samples of the Maggi noodles masala have been cleared with lead much below permissible limits," the statement said, adding this has validated their stand, maintained all along, that the noodles were and continue to be safe.

"We will make our best effort to commence the sale of Maggi noodles masala within this month as well as continue engaging with the states where permissions are needed or specific directions may be necessary."

In mid-October, Nestle India had said that all samples of Maggi noodles of the batches that were in question had passed the required tests as directed by the Bombay High Court, but added that it will be re-launched only after the newly-manufactured product also pass the tests.

The newly-manufactured products underwent the tests at the labs in Mohali, Jaipur and Hyderabad.

As regards the other eight variants, a spokesperson for Nestle India said as and when the company decides to re-introduce them, the due process will be followed. He, however, did not indicate the time frame by which these will hit the market.

The company said Maggi was currently being manufactured at Nanjangud in Karnataka, Moga in Punjab and Bicholim in Goa, and that it was engaging with the state governments of Himachal Pradesh and the Uttarakhand for commencing production at Tahliwal and Pantnagar respectively.

In June, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had ordered a pan-India ban on the company's noodles on the ground that these were "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption due to presence of lead, allegedly beyond permissible limits.

But on August 13, the Bombay High Court gave a significant respite to the company by lifting the ban on the sale of the noodle, while also ordering fresh tests to be conducted in three separate labs to ascertain that the product complied with the country's food safety norms.

The court order meant the original product safety certificate of the watchdog remained valid.

Nestle also said it had, on its own, conducted over 3,500 tests representing around 200 million packs in both national as well as international accredited laboratories -- and that all of them had given a clean chit.

"In addition to these, various countries including the US, UK, Singapore, Australia and others have found Maggi noodles exported from India to be safe for consumption" the statement issue on Wednesday said.

Once the noodle brand had passed the tests as ordered by the court in mid-October, a host of states that had imposed their own ban on the produce also revoked it, led by Karnataka, Goa and Gujarat.

A related case now remains. This pertains to the class action suit filed by the consumer affairs ministry against Nestle India, seeking about Rs.640 crore in damages for alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements.

The apex consumer court, which had also ordered fresh tests, is expected to deliver its verdict on this on November 23.