No short cuts to safety

The rapid response of the Centre and the States to concerns about the safety of mass-marketed branded noodles is a welcome departure from the culture of governmental indifference to matters of public safety. Several States have initiated testing of samples of Nestle’s ‘Maggi’ noodles to assess levels of lead, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and other chemicals. The first tests commissioned by Uttar Pradesh last year, which were repeated in an apex laboratory in Kolkata for confirmation, indicated that the levels of lead in the snack were much higher than legally permissible; MSG, a flavouring salt normally added to preserved foods, was also found, although on the label there was no indication of its presence. This is plainly unacceptable. Food safety, particularly in the case of aggressively promoted packaged snacks aimed at children, is critically important. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which requires the States to deploy an effective enforcement mechanism, seeks to achieve that with a regime of stiff penalties ranging from fines to a life term in prison. Data presented to Parliament last month show that over 10,200 prosecutions were launched under the law in 2013-14, but they resulted in only 913 convictions; in some States and Union territories, none was secured.

In the ‘Maggi’ noodles case, a fuller picture will emerge when the results of tests ordered by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India are known. It is important to trace the origin of the problem, and its possible linkages to other food articles. This requires State governments to maintain vigilance and undertake sincere, transparent efforts to identify unsafe foods. For its part, the food industry, which deploys enormous resources for lobbying and advertising, would help its own cause by cooperating with the investigation. What stands out as overreach in the entire episode, however, is the targeting of celebrities for their endorsement of ‘Maggi’ products in the past. As actor Preity Zinta tweeted, it is puzzling that she received a court notice for an endorsement made a dozen years ago. Celebrities must choose with great care the products and causes they endorse, but there is little doubt that their support has advanced many campaigns for public health, women and child rights, and so on. It is also relevant to point out here that food safety cannot exist in a vacuum, where the government neglects social determinants of health such as clean water, pollution control, elimination of adulteration, access to energy and freedom from corruption. In contrast to big corporations that have easy access to resources, India’s food business also has small, informal-sector participants who depend on it for livelihood. Without a supportive state, even well-meaning food laws cannot be comprehensively enforced.