The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had banned the product on June 5 because of excessive lead content and mislabelling.
NEW DELHI: India's food regulator isn't likely to appeal against the Bombay High Courtdecision setting aside the ban on Maggi noodles, a top government official told ET, thus allowing the process stipulated by the division bench to proceed. In its ruling on August 13, the court said the Nestle India product has to be tested for lead content over the next six weeks at accredited laboratories in Hyderabad, Mohali and Jaipur. If the samples are found to be safe, Nestle can put Maggi noodles back on shelves.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had banned the product on June 5 because of excessive lead content and mislabelling.
The order led to fierce criticism by some sections of the government, the most vocal of whom was food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, on the grounds that such moves would lead to a climate of fear and uncertainty and a freeze on investment.
This view appears to be holding sway, going by the statement of the official cited above. "The general view is that this decision should not be appealed against in the higher court," the official said. Another senior official said the high court order was a neutral one and therefore there was not much for appeal. "It's a neutral order...All it says is ban can be lifted only after the tests give an all-clear," the second official said. The final decision rests with FSSAI.
Desisting from an appeal will allow the case to be settled quickly, bringing to a close an issue that has brought negative publicity to the country's food administration regime, if the tests show the product is safe. Various overseas regulators have said Maggi noodles made in India is fit for consumption.
The Bombay High Court ruling was made on a petition filed by Nestle against the regulatory order.
The court said the regulator hadn't given the company enough opportunity to present its stand, which was a violation of natural justice. Some in government were of the view that effecting a ban was not the right way forward, especially in the manner in which it was carried out. The ban on Maggi noodles prompted many packaged food producers to withdraw similar products from the market fearing that they would be next. Food processing minister Badal said that an "inspector raj" had led to concerns among companies, stalling investment and threatening the government's Make-in-India programme.
The high court said any nationwide ban by FSSAI had to be justified by the regulator. The division bench said a showcause notice had not been issued before the ban and neither were samples tested at accredited laboratories, raising doubts over the results.
"We are very concerned with the public health and safety and hence those three laboratories will check, whether the lead content is within the permissible limits and will give its report to FSSAI within six weeks," the bench had said. "If the lead content is within the permissible limit of 2.5 ppm (parts per million), only then the company will be allowed to sell the product in the market."
The Narendra Modi government is seeking to drum up investment as it looks to generate jobs and boost economic growth. The Prime Minister is currently in the United Arab Emirates where he's seeking to encourage investors to put their money into India.
The government has said that it's trying to move away from the adversarial role adopted by the previous administration. Earlier this year, the government decided not to appeal against the transfer pricing case it lost to Vodafone in the Bombay High Court.
The ban on Maggi noodles and the voluntary withdrawal of other packaged food products are seen as having had an economic impact - in the index of industrial production data for June, the instant food category showed a decline of 42%. Meanwhile, a separate case against Nestle got underway at the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on Monday. The consumer affairs ministry is seeking damages of Rs 639.95 crore from the Swiss company for selling a "defective and hazardous" product.
Officials had said the Bombay High Court ruling wouldn't prevent the ministry from going ahead with its case. They said the basis of the case was different from the one in the high court. "We are fighting the case on grounds of unfair trade practices, sale of defective goods and sale of Maggi oats noodles to the public without product approval," said a Department of Consumer Affairs official.
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