Tribune News Service
New Delhi/Shimla, June 4
Nestlé India today decided to take Maggi off the shelves after a
controversy erupted over its contents, prompting several states to ban
the 'two-minute' noodles.Asserting that the product was "completely safe", the company in a statement late tonight said: "Unfortunately, recent developments and unfounded concerns about the product have led to an environment of confusion for the consumer, to such an extent that we have decided to withdraw the product off the shelves…
We promise that the trusted Maggi noodles will be back in the market as soon as the current situation is clarified." After Delhi and Kerala, four more states - Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand - today banned the sale of Maggi noodles after concerns were raised over presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead beyond permissible levels in the product.
While the Uttarakhand Government banned the sale of Nestle's instant noodles for three months, the ban in Gujarat will be effective for a month after some samples of the food had failed lab tests, officials said. In Jammu and Kashmir, the state government has banned the sale for a month till the receipt of reports over the fitness of the fast food for human consumption.
In Shimla, Union Health Minister JP Nadda today said the Centre would take a final decision on the Maggi noodles after receiving reports from the states. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s apex food regulator, would present the reports before Nadda in Delhi tomorrow. “We have formed a panel, which had set June 1 deadline for the states to send reports of the samples collected and tested by them. While many reports have been received, some are still awaited,” said Nadda. He said as collecting samples and getting those tested was in the state domain, the Centre had told the states to expedite the process. He was here for a media interaction to highlight the Narendra Modi government’s achievements on the completion of its one year in power.
Big B, Madhuri, Preity get notice Madurai: Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta were slapped with notices by the Tamil Nadu consumer forum on a petition seeking a direction to them not to promote Maggi noodles on "false representations" about quality and safety. The Madurai bench of the Tamil Nadu State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission also issued notices to CMD of Nestle India, the makers of Maggi, and three others. — PTI
Centre to hold review meeting today New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s apex food regulator, has compiled the reports of Maggi samples tested by the states. The reports would be put up before Union Health Minister JP Nadda at a review meeting on Friday. The meeting is likely to discuss the fate of Maggi noodles. Preliminary indications from FSSAI are that unsafe levels of lead had been found in Maggi samples by several states and the matter could warrant a court case against Nestle India. The FSSAI Act provides for life imprisonment in extreme cases and lower punishments and penalties in other cases. TNS
Nepal bans import, sale
Kathmandu:
The Nepal government has decided to impose a ban on importing and
selling of Maggi in its market for an undefined period. With noodles
being a very popular dish in the Himalayan nation, Maggi, along with
other domestic noodles, is likely to face strong food quality checks,
officials here said. "Yes, we are putting a ban on importing and selling
Maggi in Nepal following the controversy in India," Uttam Kumar
Bhattarai, secretary at the ministry of agriculture development, said on
Thursday. He further added that his ministry was going to issue a
public notice on Friday urging consumers to avoid eating Maggi following
the controversy in India. IANS
Walmart, Metro withdraw stock
Walmart
and Metro AG have withdrawn Maggi noodles from their wholesale stores
in India. "Given our utmost focus on food safety and ongoing concerns
around this product, we have withdrawn the Maggi noodles from our
shelves across all 20 Best Price Modern Wholesale stores till further
clarity from FSSAI and SFS," a Walmart spokesman said. PTI
