Gujarat becomes latest state to ban Maggi; to test ITC's Sunfeast also

The state FDA said 14 of 27 samples sent for testing had lead content over permitted levels

Multinational food major Nestle's woes are far from over as after Delhi, Gujarat today banned the instant noodle snack for one month. The state health minister Nitin Patel said that Gujarat is also testing ITC's Sunfeast brand of instant noodles as a few samples have failed food safety tests for monosodium glutamate (MSG).

He, however, added that the action would not have any impact on Nestle's upcoming plant at Sanand here. Nestle is setting up a Rs 400 crore plant at Sanand, about 30 odd kms from Ahmedabad. "We are banning Maggi noodles in Gujarat for a month. Samples of Sunfeast noodles also tested positive for monosodium glutamate (MSG), " said Patel, state health minister and spokesperson, Gujarat Government. An ITCspokesperson could not be contacted over phone, and an email sent remained unanswered till the time of going to press.

When asked if this controversy would have any impact on the Sanand project, Patel said, "There would be no impact on the Sanand project, and Maggi will also sell in Gujarat later, when the company takes corrective action. As of now, we have ordered all samples to be withdrawn from the market."

Gujarat, however, has not banned Sunfeast, as the samples tested did not contain lead beyond permissible limits, but has decided to test more samples to decide further course of action.

As for Maggi, the samples that were sent for testing here in Gujarat contained MSG and also lead above permissible limits. Confirming the development, state Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) commissioner H G Koshia said that of the 27 samples sent for testing in our laboratories, all of them were found to contain MSG. "While all samples contained MSG, around 14 samples contained lead beyond permissible limits," he said.

The permissible level for lead in food products considered to be fit for human consumption is 2.5 ppm, and the Maggi samples were found to contain lead higher than that. "We have found up to 5 ppm of lead in the samples," Koshia said.

The Centre has already approached the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against Nestle's Indian arm. The food and consumer affairs ministry has lodged a written complaint with the NCDRC, which can directly ask the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for its investigation report and also issue notices and summons to Nestle India.