Maggi is in a soup. But it won’t give up without a fight

Alike it's delicious variant of soupy noodles, Maggi noodles is in a concentrated soup and there seems no 2 minute respite anytime soon. A week later after reports detecting high content of lead in one batch of Maggi has stirred up a controversy, Nestle India has initiated a quick damage control. Asking the retailers not to panic, Maggi has been putting up logics to defend its move, a news report by The Economic Times has claimed.

"The order to recall the Maggi batch is for February 2014, which anyway would have got expired in November 2014," Nestle wrote to retailers. "This is an order from the state agency and no central agency has passed any orders," it said. reviewed a copy of the communication. 

The ET reviewed a copy of the communication where it has been further said, "This is an order from the state agency and no central agency has passed any orders."

"The news of lead is yet to be verified in the second test. The amount of any such substance is so small in any food product that even the slightest of error in test results might give incorrect results," the note said. In an email response to the ET, a Nestle India spokesperson said, "Some recent reports in the media about Maggi noodles are confusing people and we are working to clear the confusion as soon as possible. We are confident of our product and are sharing this confidence with our consumers and trade. It is too early to assess any impact on sales."

However, insiders' report to the financial daily has shown a significant drop in the sales of Maggi ranging from 10-40% since last week. Sales at stores in metros and bigger cities have been specially impacted because a lot of the current controversy has escalated on social media like Facebook and Twitter," sources have confirmed the ET.

The brand accounts for close to 30% of Nestle's sales in the country. National food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has initiated sample tests of Maggi noodles across other parts of the country, including Kolkata and Mumbai and Nagpur. 

Defending its flagship brand strongly, Nestle said Maggi noodles comply with applicable food and safety laws as well as the company's own standards of quality and safety before they reach consumers. Its spokesman said Nestle has made a representation to the Uttar Pradesh authorities and has submitted large number of product samples to an independent accredited laboratory to independently evaluate the product. 

"We will share the initial results soon and will continue to update as new results are received," the spokesperson told ET. In its communication to retailers, Nestle urged them not to be defensive if any customer talks about the controversy. "Nestle is a big enough company and will come clean out of it. Please don't get into any sort of communication or opinion without legal guidance," it said. 

Industry experts, however, say the controversy could have a severe long-term impact on brand trust. "In a case of this magnitude, both parties should make their reports public. In case the authorities have proof that the product in the market is tainted and unsafe, then they will likely initiate a public recall and initiate a probe in the matter," said Ashwin Bhadri, food auditor and business relations head at Equinox Labs, which works closely with the FSSAI, on compliance issues.