NEW DELHI: A claim for 640 crores or 99 million dollars in damages from food group Nestle after a food scare involving Maggi noodles will be heard on Friday by the country's top consumer forum. Tomorrow, the Bombay High Court is expected to rule on whether the government correctly enforced a country-wide ban on the popular snack.
The claim for damages, made on behalf of Indian consumers by the government, was filed with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), which has semi-judicial powers.
Nestle has been accused of unfair trade practices in the first case in India that is being seen as a class-action suit against a multinational.
"We are disappointed with the unprecedented step of filing of a complaint before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) against Nestle India. Based on newspaper reports it appears that the complaint makes similar allegations which were made to ban the product on 5th June 2015," said a statement from the company.
In June, the country's food safety regulator banned Maggi as "unsafe and hazardous for human consumption" after excessive amounts of lead were reported in samples tested in Uttar Pradesh. Nestle was also accused of violating labelling rules and misleading customers by declaring the noodles have do not contain added MSG or added mono-sodium glutamate (MSG), a taste enhancer.
Nestle has recalled Maggi from shops across the country while asserting its snack is safe and challenging the ban in the Bombay High Court.
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