Gujarat extends ban on Maggi noodles by a month

Says company has not furnished any safety data for the product as per FSSAI rules

Gujarat Food and Drug Control Authority has extended the ban on Maggi noodles for third time in a row for a month as its manufacturer Nestle did not furnish any safety data for the product.

"We have extended ban (on Maggi) for one more month as the company (Nestle) has not furnished any safety data for that product (Maggi), as per the Food Safety Standard Act and the rules and regulations there under," Gujarat Food and Drug Control Authority Commissioner H G Koshia told PTI, when asked about extension of ban on Maggi noodles.

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"Once the report was given that the product (Maggi) was unsafe, we served notice to the company (Nestle) seeking their report on products as we found 28 samples unsafe in Gujarat," Koshia said.

"Till date the company (Nestle) is only furnishing their day-to-day recall saying by now they have recalled 471 tonnes of Maggi from Gujarat," he said.

"But that is not full compliance, they must establish safety of the product and they have failed to do so, that is why we have extended ban for one month," he said.

Yesterday, the FSSAI-approved laboratory of Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) found Maggi noodles to be in compliance with the country's food safety standards.

CFTRI had tested five samples sent by Goa Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when Maggi was banned in June, in the wake of findings in Uttar Pradesh and other states that the instant noodles brand had lead levels beyond permissible limits.

The CFTRI findings showed that samples of Maggi noodles were in compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011.