The court also asked the company to clarify the scope of Section 22 of the Act, which deals with proprietary foods.
Swiss food manufacturer Nestle India told the Bombay High Court on Monday that the authorities should have tested Maggi noodles and the tastemaker in distilled water before imposing a ban on these products.
“Before coming to a conclusion, the authority [FSSAI] should have taken into account food as it is intended to be consumed and not as it is sold. The product [Maggi] is consumed in 250 ml of water. You have to test in water without lead, in distilled water,” senior advocate Iqbal Chagla, representing Nestle told the court.
A Division Bench of Justices V.M. Kanade and B.P. Colabawalla asked Nestle to clarify whether the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), who declared Maggi to be unsafe, and other officers concerned could work only under Section 34 of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. It is Nestle’s contention that mandatory provisions of Section 34 were not complied with.
The court also asked the company to clarify the scope of Section 22 of the Act, which deals with proprietary foods. Maggi falls in the category of proprietary foods, for which separate approvals are required, but the State’s ban order does not mention this.
Nestle also claimed that they were not given any intimation before the authorities decided to ban Maggi noodles. “This ban order affects my civil rights,” Mr. Chagla said.
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