Bihar bans 11 noodle brands; ITC, HUL and Glaxo among them

Lab tests find traces of MSG in all 11, one also found to have excess lead

After Maggi being off the shelves in Bihar, the state government today banned sale, advertisement and storage of 11 other brands of instant noodles after lab tests found monosodium glutamate (MSG) in them.

One of the 11 brands also contains lead over permissible limit, Bihar Food Safety Commissioner Anand Kishor said.

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Nestle's 'Maggi' noodles has been banned in the state since June 5.

The banned brands include 'Knorr Mast Masala Soupy Noodles' manufactured by Hindustan Unilever Limited, 'Foodles Multigrain' and 'Ata Masala Noodles' by Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Healthcare, 'Ching's Manchurian' and 'Veg Hakka Noodles' of Capital Foods Private Limited.

'Top Ramen Super Noodles', 'Top Ramen Curry Noodles' were also banned along with the 'Curry Veg Noodles' manufactured by Indo Nissin Foods Limited and its 'Cup Noodles Veggie Manchow', whose tastemaker was found to contain more lead than permitted.

Sunfeast 'Yipee Noodles Magic Masala' and 'Yipee Noodles Classic Masala' made by ITC Limited Foods Division too have been banned, Kishor said.

ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar had said in Kolkata yesterday that noodles manufactured by the company under the 'Yippee' brand are safe and had passed all the tests.

"Lab tests conducted in New Delhi of samples of all these noodles have detected presence of MSG in all of them. This is not allowed in dry food products and also involves the issue of misbranding under provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006. We are banning all these products for a month from August 2 to September 1 as of now," Kishore added.

The government has also asked the companies to recall the products immediately from the market. Apart from sale of the products, their advertisement, publicity and storage have also been banned.

Kishor said it will initiate legal proceedings against retailers and distributors found involved in sale, purchase, display of these noodles after the ban.

The samples of these brands of noodles were collected from different parts of the state and were sent for tests in May and June after the 'Maggi' controversy broke out and led to its nation-wide ban.

The samples were sent for testing to Kolkata, Bhopal, and New Delhi among others as Bihar has no laboratories which can conduct the required tests.