Maharashtra won’t pay heed to the clean chits to Maggi from both accredited labs and consumers
Maharashtra’s decision to challenge the Bombay High Court order lifting the ban on Nestle India’s instant-noodles brand, Maggi, in the Supreme Court seems unwarranted and serves to reinforce a negative perception of India’s conduciveness for doing business. What is curious, though, is that news reports a few weeks back suggested that the chief minister didn’t favour challenging the ban. Given that the noodles was cleared for lead and MSG content by three labs (in Jaipur, Hyderabad and Mohali) accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)—in keeping with the high court’s order—there is no reason why the ban should continue. The Maharashtra government, however, believes that since only certain batches have been tested, the rest could still be “potentially dangerous”. A similar, poorly-reasoned stand led to the hasty banning of the product in the first place. Despite many states like Kerala and Karnataka—and countries like the UK and Singapore—clearing the noodles, the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered the ban, based on tests carried out by non-accredited labs.
With the ban, Nestle India’s net profits tanked by 60% in the third quarter of its fiscal year. To address the damage done to the Maggi brand by the controversy, Nestle India also ended up spending R40 crore on an ad campaign to reassure the consumer; for perspective, the entire annual advertising expenditure the company incurred in 2014 was just over R440 crore. Given how the relaunched Maggi sold faster than hot cakes just days back—a flash sale on the e-commerce website, Snapdeal, saw 60,000 Maggi “Welcome Kits” clearing out in under five minutes—Maharashtra seems not to have factored in the fact that the consumer stands convinced of the noodles’ safety.
Maharashtra’s decision to challenge the Bombay High Court order lifting the ban on Nestle India’s instant-noodles brand, Maggi, in the Supreme Court seems unwarranted and serves to reinforce a negative perception of India’s conduciveness for doing business. What is curious, though, is that news reports a few weeks back suggested that the chief minister didn’t favour challenging the ban. Given that the noodles was cleared for lead and MSG content by three labs (in Jaipur, Hyderabad and Mohali) accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)—in keeping with the high court’s order—there is no reason why the ban should continue. The Maharashtra government, however, believes that since only certain batches have been tested, the rest could still be “potentially dangerous”. A similar, poorly-reasoned stand led to the hasty banning of the product in the first place. Despite many states like Kerala and Karnataka—and countries like the UK and Singapore—clearing the noodles, the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered the ban, based on tests carried out by non-accredited labs.
With the ban, Nestle India’s net profits tanked by 60% in the third quarter of its fiscal year. To address the damage done to the Maggi brand by the controversy, Nestle India also ended up spending R40 crore on an ad campaign to reassure the consumer; for perspective, the entire annual advertising expenditure the company incurred in 2014 was just over R440 crore. Given how the relaunched Maggi sold faster than hot cakes just days back—a flash sale on the e-commerce website, Snapdeal, saw 60,000 Maggi “Welcome Kits” clearing out in under five minutes—Maharashtra seems not to have factored in the fact that the consumer stands convinced of the noodles’ safety.
No comments:
Post a Comment