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Nestlé India moved Uttarakhand High Court on Friday challenging the state government’s move to ban sale, storage and production of Maggi noodles from its Pantnagar plant. Samples tested by the state’s food regulator allegedly had excessive amounts of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead in them.
Even after Nestlé India’s withdrawal of Maggi products across the country on Thursday night, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra followed in the steps of Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and Uttarakhand, and banned the sale of Maggi noodles. Maharashtra minister Girish Bapat said, the state will ban all Maggi noodles product from Saturday. The company has been asked to withdraw Maggi noodles from the market, Bapat added.
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After receiving a report from Indore-based lab, Madhya Pradesh government imposed an immediate ban on sale of Nestlé India’s Maggi brand products. “Five samples sent to the laboratory have been confirmed excess MSG. Reports of other samples are awaited,” a government official confirmed.
The Sikkim government initiated tests into Maggi noodles as well as two other popular snacks, while Telangana government’s principal health secretary Suresh Chanda said they will take a call after assessing the results of the first batch of test samples most likely to be out on June 8. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, district magistrate Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, said, “We have served notice to Nestlé India at its Pantnagar plant to stop production of Maggi noodles.”
An spokesperson from Nestle India on Friday said, "The Uttarakhand government issued a notification on June 4, 2015, banning manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of Maggi Noodles in Uttarakhand for 90 days. While we have already announced that we are taking the product off the shelves, we approached the High Court of Uttarakhand Friday and this action is mainly focused on contesting the ban on manufacture at our factory at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand."
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Admitting Nestlé India’s petition, the court asked the government to submit its response by June 15. The company has challenged the state food safety department’s order on the grounds that it was taken “unilaterally” and did not share the test reports with it. A notification was issued by the food safety department commissioner Om Prakash, which stated that the ban will remain in force for 90 days since high contents of poisonous substances were found in the samples of Maggie noodles.
Meanwhile, in some respite to Nestle India, Kolkata gave the company’s Maggi noodles a clean chit. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said, “Samples of Maggi were tested in five laboratories and no objectionable materials have been found in the product, so as of now we have decided not to ban the sale of the product.” She, however, added further tests will be conducted.
Meanwhile, Reliance Retail on Friday removed all 11 instant noodle brands from its stores, after Future Group, Walmart and Metro withdrew Maggi noodles in the country.
