Challenging the ban on Maggi, Nestle India stated that authorities failed to do a number of things before calling the food unsafe
Mumbai: In the ongoing hearing challenging the Maggi noodle ban by the food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Bombay high court has asked Nestle India to clarify on two counts.
The bench comprising judges V.M. Kanade and B.P. Colabawalla asked the company to explain the scope of proprietary food under section 22 of the FSSAI Act, 2006, under which products such as Maggi instant noodles come.
The bench also asked if all the officers of FSSAI are governed only by section 34 FSSAI Act, 2006, or if they had any other powers.
Section 34 deals with the power of a designated officer to impose a ban if he or she is not satisfied with the product quality and feels that it poses a health risk.
Referring to the ban, Nestle India’s counsel Iqbal Chagla had told the court that “the authorities did not have any such power, nor does the state”.
He added that “natural justice has been completely and totally violated”.
Nestle India told the court that the authorities failed to do a number of things before calling the food unsafe.
It includes issuing a show cause notice to the company and conducting food tests.
The counsel told the court that Maggi noodles come with a tastemaker inside. The tastemaker is to be added to the noodles which is boiled in 250 ml of water for two minutes and then consumed.
However, both the noodles and the tastemaker were tested separately for lead by different states and the FSSAI lab in Kolkata.
FSSAI banned the product, terming them “unsafe and hazardous” for human consumption after finding high levels of lead and the presence of taste enhancer monosodium glutamate on 5 June.
After conducting its own tests, Maharashtra state, too, had banned its sale on 6 June.
The FSSAI and the Maharashtra FDA are yet to present their case before the court.
No comments:
Post a Comment