The Goa government has indicated its desire to revoke ban on Maggi noddles, however, Maharashtra government’s decision to challenge the Bombay High Court decision against its ban in the Supreme Court may delay the fate of Maggi in Goa as well.
The possibility of Goa revoking ban on Maggi noodles does not arise unless the legal battle between Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) presently in Bombay High court is completely resolved, though the High court has quashed the ban. Moreover, the case is tagged with Maharashtra government ban issue which is all set to go to the apex court.
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar told The Hindu on Wednesday morning that since the results of Maggi samples tested in State-run Food and Drugs Administration laboratory had not shown presence of any harmful content, the Goa government was open to lift the ban on Maggi noodles following the decisions of other States like Gujarat and Karnataka.
He, however, went on to confirm that Goa government had never imposed the ban but implemented an order of FSSAI, a Central regulatory agency which is presently being tackled with due process of law after it was quashed by Bombay High court along with the ban of Maharashtra government. He further pointed out that again the issue may face some delay as the Maharashtra government has challenged the Bombay High court decision to quash its ban ,in the Supreme Court. Director of Goa FDA Saleem Velji concurred.
As per the report of the FSSAI, Nestle India allegedly violated three mandatory conditions: having lead in excess of the permissible levels of 2.5 ppm (parts per million), misleading labeling information on the product label and selling Maggi oat masala noodles without its approval.
Goa was one of the few States where the product had tested negative for the two substances in two separate tests which had been conducted in the state. But following the ban across the country the Goa had also to implement the Central ban on Maggi from June 8. Goa FDA Director Velji had then said after the sample test that lead in all the five samples was “reported to be well below the permissible limit”. Besides, MSG had been found to be negative in the said test.
“In any case, the test results of Goa samples had no bearing on the order dated 5th June, 2015 as the samples tested qua Goa were not assumed to be unsafe while passing the Recall order by FSSAI. As such, the present test reports do not have any bearing on that order,” FSSAI press release issued on August 5 had clarified.
Recently, two days after Maggi samples passed all the tests in three laboratories designated by Bombay High Court, Karnataka and Gujarat governments announced that they would lift the ban on the Nestle product.
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