FSSAI orders testing of all noodles, pasta, macaroni brands

After Maggi, quality testing was ordered today for noodles, pasta and macaroni brands of seven companies including Nestle, ITC and GlaxoSmithkline across the country to check for health hazards.
Listing out the total 32 such brands including Maggi, Top Ramen, Wai Wai, Yummy and Foodles, the central food safety regulator FSSAI also ordered immediate recall of all other such instant food products which did not have any product approval and were being sold in the market in an "unauthorised and illegal" manner.
In its order for quality testing by all states and union territories, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said that "various test results on Maggi and some other similar products have raised serious health concerns" and therefore it was necessary to test other similar products.

"In view of the same, it would be advisable to draw regulatory samples for similar products for which product approvals have been granted by FSSAI," it said, while asking the samples to be sent to the authorised labs for testing.
"The safety of all other such products in these categories has not been assessed as per the Product Approval procedures. As such, the same are unauthorised and illegal and cannot be intended for human consumption," the regulator said.
"...You are advised to ensure that such products are recalled, removed from the market and destroyed," FSSAI CEO YS Malik said in a circular to the Commissioners of Food Safety of all States and UTs.

In the circular, the FSSAI has also listed out the detailed parameters on which such tests would need to be conducted for noodles, pastas and macaroni with tastemaker of all makes and brands present in the market.

Cakes and masala or tastemaker would need to be tested separately, while all states and Union Territories have been asked to submit their reports by June 19, Malik said.
The circular follows FSSAI order on Friday for recall of all variants of Nestle India's Maggi noodles terming them as "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption.
Nestle India recalled Maggi from the markets after several states banned the famous '2-minute' instant food brand as tests showed that it contained taste enhancer MSG (Monosodium glutamate) and lead in excess of the permissible limits.