Maggi Found To Be Unsafe And Removed Off Shelves In India
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- Published on Wednesday, 03 June 2015 14:53 0 Comments
NEW DELHI: Nestle’s popular brand of Maggi noodles may receive a ban in India.
A Delhi government spokesman said 10 out of 13 samples tested for lead content in the popular food item were found to have amounts higher than permissible limits.
Lead, a toxic metal authorities claimed to have found in the instant noodles, can cause hypertension, kidney damage, and in extreme cases, death. Children are particularly vulnerable because their bodies absorb five times more lead than adults do, the World Health Organization says.
“Last week, we lifted 13 samples of Maggi for testing following media reports of these being unsafe for consumption. We found the masala samples, tastemakers of at least 10 such packets, had lead content beyond the prescribed limit of 2.5 ppm.
“This falls under the category of misbranding,” said Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain. He added the government has decided to file a case against Nestle for selling unsafe product and fine it for misbranding Maggi noodles.
The product is now undergoing tests in several states, and if Maggi fails these tests, things could get worse for its manufacturers.
A senior Delhi health official said all existing stocks of Maggi will have to be removed from the market immediately since 80% of samples tested were found to be unfit for human consumption.
The Delhi government has filed a case against the company and will meet officials of Nestle India today.
Nestle India released a statement this week saying their noodles were safe to eat and lead levels were well within limits.
“We regularly monitor all our raw material for lead, including testing by accredited laboratories which have consistently shown levels in Maggi Noodles to be within permissible limits.”
On Maggi India’s Facebook page yesterday, an announcement was made reassuring consumers that they could enjoy their instant noodles as always:
“As a responsible company, we submitted samples of MAGGI Noodles from almost 600 product batches to an external laboratory for independent analysis and we tested samples from almost 1000 batches at our own accredited laboratory.
“These samples represent around 125 Million (12.5 Crore) packets. All the results of these internal and external tests show that lead levels are well within the limits specified by food regulations.”
A senior official at the Consumer Affairs Ministry said the federal government would decide on next steps after India’s national food-safety regulator receives tests reports this Friday.
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