All brands of instant noodles under quality lens

The State food safety wing will subject all brands of instant noodles in the market to strict quality control tests, in the wake of the controversy over the safety of Maggi noodles.

The Food Safety Commissioner, who attended a meeting of the Central Advisory Committee of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in New Delhi on Thursday, has received a directive in this regard and, hence, the focus will now move to checking, if indeed, other brands of instant noodles in the market to ensure that they are safe for consumption.

With the FSSAI directing the manufacturer of Maggi noodles, Nestle Ltd., to recall all its nine variants of Maggi noodles from the market across the country, the countrywide ban will be implemented strictly in Kerala too, Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar said here on Friday.

On May 26

In a statement here, Mr. Sivakumar said the State food safety wing initiated Statewide quality tests on samples of Maggi noodles in the NABL-accredited and FSSAI-recognised labs on May 26, as soon as the reports questioning its safety were out. The test reports were submitted to the Centre on June 2 itself and none of the samples tested in Kerala showed the presence of lead in quantities exceeding the permissible limit, Mr. Sivakumar said. More samples were being tested, he added.

Even though Supplyco and certain supermarket chains had opted not to sell Maggi noodles following confusion over its safety, the State administration had not banned the sale of the product outright as the sample tests conducted within the State had not given an adverse report.

The safety of Maggi noodles came into focus following reports that the food safety wing of the Uttar Pradesh government had detected dangerous levels of lead and added monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the product.

State Food Safety officials said the food regulatory authorities in the country had not fixed any limit for “added MSG.” Food manufacturers were only required to provide label information on the food packet, if the product contained added MSG.

Health officials said processed foods were known to have high levels of salt and other permitted food additives and that anything in excess could cause health concerns.

Food Safety Commissioner receives directive from Central panel