Centre set to seek Rs 426 cr in damages from Nestle

To move NCDRC on behalf of consumers over alleged unfair trade practices by the firm

The Centre looks set to seek a compensation of around Rs 426 crore from Swiss food major Nestle over the alleged damages caused by Maggi noodles to Indian consumers.

At a time when Nestle India is awaiting a verdict from the Bombay High Court in its case against the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), it might now have to fight another legal battle.

The consumer affairs ministry is ready to file a complaint with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) in the next few days. The complaint, to be filed on behalf of Indian consumers, is against "unfair trade practices" and "misleading consumers" in the Maggi case. A senior ministry official confirmed to Business Standard: "The file has been formally cleared."

The development comes within days of Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan telling the media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked his Cabinet colleagues to "maintain decorum" on the Maggi issue. Also, some ministers in the government have been critical of FSSAI's Maggi recall order. While some have cited international investors' nervousness in the matter - without wanting to be named - Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been more open. She had earlier said the Maggi incident had led to an environment of fear.

FSSAI Chief Executive Yudhvir Singh Malik had, however, told this newspaper last week that he was more concerned that children should not be consuming contaminated products than anything else. Industry, according to him, should be more proactive and sensitive in these matters.

Nestle India estimates indicate that the company destroyed products worth Rs 360 crore after FSSAI's recall order, based on testing of Maggi samples by Food and Drugs Administrations (FDAs) of around half a dozen states. The regulator, on June 5, also stopped the company from manufacturing the noodles in India. Subsequently, Nestle India moved court against the FSSAI order; a verdict is pending.

Though the consumer affairs ministry had started the process of filing a complaint with NCDRC two months ago - around the time FSSAI ordered a countrywide recall of Maggi noodles from retail shelves - it had to go through layers of legal opinion to make it a water-tight case, an official pointed out.

The compensation that the government is seeking from Nestle India has been calculated on the basis of Maggi sales' share in Nestle India's total revenue in the country in 2014-15. The company's Maggi noodles revenue was pegged at around Rs 2,500 crore - this was 25 per cent of the company's total India revenue.

"In the interest of millions of consumers, the department of consumer affairs took suo motu action against the company," the official explained.

When contacted, a Nestle India spokesperson said the company had not received any intimation on this from the government.

Usually, NCDRC comes into the picture when a consumer files a complaint. But a section of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, also empowers the Centre and state governments to register complaints on behalf of consumers. The consumer affairs ministry is expected to file the complaint under this provision of law.

The recall of Maggi noodles followed sample tests which showed presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and an excessive level of lead in the sample tested. In its order of June 5, FSSAI had said the product was "hazardous" for human consumption. According to Nestle India, its own tests showed compliance with the norms, though the company announced withdrawal of Maggi noodles from the Indian market minutes before the FSSAI order on June 5.

Regulatory emergency

Why India must act to improve its regulators

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, or FSSAI, which is India’s apex food safety regulator, has not covered itself with glory of late. Its order to withdraw Nestle’s Maggi noodles from India’s grocery shelves has come under a cloud for several reasons. There is little doubt that Nestle deserves to be criticised for the manner in which it chose to handle the situation. But it now appears that the company had already decided to recall Maggi, and this spurred the FSSAI to action before additional reports had come in. The regulator has thus given the impression of acting in a bid to send out a message about its strictness rather than due consideration.

Worse, Maggi noodles have now been cleared not just by laboratories in Singapore and Britain but also by FSSAI- approved domestic laboratories. This imbroglio is the climax of a period in which the FSSAI has gone after various puzzling but headline- grabbing targets — such as the world- famous Australian wine brand, Jacob’s Creek, for supposedly including tartaric acid, which gained the regulator an acid reproof from the Bombay High Court for an “ adversarial” attitude. “ Statutory authorities”, added the Court while overruling the FSSAI in this case, must “ act in a manner that is fair, transparent and with a proper application of mind”. Certainly, these strictures appear deserved in the case of the FSSAI.

But the Court’s opinion sadly extends to many other regulators. India’s pharmaceutical regulator is a case in point. Following several controversial reports about lax standards in Indian companies – several of which wound up being banned from developed- country markets – the drug controller simply said, in effect, that American standards could not be applied to Indian pharma, because no drug would then get passed. The automobile sector is no better; Europe’s regulators tested five new Indian small cars in 2014 and found none met safety standards. But that doesn’t matter for regulation back home. Then there’s aviation; India may be one of the world’s largest and fastest- growing airline markets, but the US Federal Aviation Authority in 2014 downgraded safety standards to its equivalent of junk status — because, the FAA said, the Indian aviation regulator didn’t have enough people to inspect all the planes they were supposed to. This is an emergency — a public health, public safety, and economic emergency.

India is the third- largest economy in the world ( measured by its gross domestic product in terms of purchasing power parity), but it has one of the most tattered regulatory structures globally. It has laws that are so strict on paper that they become unmanageable. Then there is the problem of unconscionably lax application of these laws, which leads to Maggi- style discretion and controversy. Worse, fixing this does not appear to be on the government or business agenda. Instead, both the Centre and India Inc defend India’s lax regulation. Acting on pressure from domestic companies, India did not even participate in negotiations for the second- generation Information Technology Agreement, or ITA- II, for fear that freer trade would hurt. It insists on data- secure status in Europe for Indian companies without legislating basic privacy rights at home. This reveals a short- sighted lack of ambition in the Indian private sector; unless they push for updated regulation, they will never grow and become global giants. And the government must think of consumers — who have the right to global standards, to Maggi and to safer cars.

US FDA clears Maggi in a breather for Nestle

The United States FDA cleared Nestle’s two-minute Maggi noodles samples late Monday night.

NEW DELHI: The United States FDA cleared Nestle's two-minute Maggi noodles samples late Monday night, the seventh country to do so, even as national food regulator Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has refused to give a clean chit to the noodles brand. 

"We have learnt from our official importer in the United States, House of Spices, that the US Food and Drug Administration has tested several shipments of Maggi noodles from India for lead content. Finding no unsafe lead levels, FDA released the noodles for sale in the United States," a Nestle spokesperson said. Food regulators in the UK, Singapore, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam have already stated that they have found India-made Maggi to be safe for consumption. 

Maggi noodles was banned by FSSAI on June 5, based on allegations that it had excessive lead levels, mislabelling on packs which declared 'no added MSG', and was selling Maggi oats masala noodles without product approval. Nestle, however, has insisted that neither its Maggi noodles nor pasta contain added MSG, adding that many packaged foods contain hydrolysed groundnut protein, onion powder and wheat flour, all of which contain glutamate. Nestle has claimed that if lab tests show MSG, it is probably due to natural glutamate. However, according to FSSAI, packaged foods with ingredients that naturally contain MSG cannot declare 'no added MSG' on their packs, since this could be misleading. 

Maggi noodles, Nestle's flagship brand, was doing sales of over Rs 2,000 crore before the ban. The recall exercise of Maggi noodles has cost Nestle Rs 320 crore and another Rs 1,270 crore in brand loss according to global valuation consultancy Brand Finance.

Fried chicken, snack brand under food safety scanner in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Food safety officers have begun collecting samples from KFC outlets and Pepsico's Kurkure following a high court directive ordering the food safety authority to check for the presence of bacteria in their foods. However, authorities say that so far they have not found anything incriminating in the samples. 

Food safety officers collected samples of food products from Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlets on Monday. They also plan to collect samples from Marry Brown and other fried chicken outlets during this week. They will also be picking up samples of Kurkure from retail shops across the city. "We recently received an order to collect samples of all 'YUM' products such as Kurkure, KFC, Heavens Chicken and Marry Brown," said designated food safety officer Dr R Kathiravan. "We do not have Heavens Chicken here, but we will be collecting samples of other brand this week," he added. 

Officials said that this order is based on a high court directive asking the department to check if the food products were "safe". 

"A petitioner named R Devarishi has filed a petition in the Madras High Court bench in Madurai, seeking a direction to the Centre and state government to either cancel or withdraw licenses given to the above products," said an official from the Madurai court. "The petition had also cited reports about bacteria in samples sold by KFC," he said. The petition asked for a preliminary inquiry into the ingredients of the eatables and the outlets to be shut down if the eatables are found to contain bacteria. 

Food safety officers said the KFC samples collected from the city looked clear so far. "They did not contain e-coli or salmonella bacteria," said an officer. Sources said that a couple of these brands used to use colouring for the rice dish they served along with the chicken, but had stopped doing so after being sensitized. "In the recently collected samples, they have been found to be following the food safety act's rules and directives," said the officer. 

KFC had faced some bad publicity last year, when a customer claimed that he found a worm inside his piece of chicken. A case too had been filed against them by the district food safety department. The food regulatory authority has been keeping a close watch on multinationals after the recent ban on Maggi.

20 tonne Maggi found in Banthara

LUCKNOW: In a surprise raid, nearly 20,000 kg of Maggi noodles was discovered at a godown of Nestle India in Banthara area on the outskirt of the city on Monday. The raid was conducted on a tip-off received by the officials of the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA). Senior officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) were also part of the team that raided the Nestle godown.

Confirming the development, designated officer of FSDA Lucknow, JP Singh, said, "At the godown of the Nestle India, we have found almost 20,000 kg of Maggi, the popular 2-minute snacks, which was put in as many as 3,200 cases/boxes." He further stated that the officials have been asked to take the noodle packets into their custody for further investigation, till further orders.

Senior officials of FSDA also told TOI that Nestle India had already submitted an undertaking that it would not bring back the popular two-minute noodles in the market. "However, the presence of Maggi in the store depot certainly raised eyebrows," the FSDA official said, and added that further investigations in the case were going on. Citing the stockist, Singh said, "The stockist told us that he has destroyed 200-250 trucks of Maggi, and is still destroying the popular snack. However, we are investigating this entire issue."

Kerala Border Checkposts to Have Labs to Test Milk Products, Edible Oil

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government would introduce lab facilities at the border checkposts for testing milk, milk products and edible oils that would be brought to the state during the Onam season, Health Minister V S Sivakumar said on Monday.

Food products would be allowed into the state only after inspection. The services of the field officers of the health department would be made available to the food safety wing during the season, Sivakumar said, after a meeting held here to review the steps taken to prevent the in-flow of pesticide-ridden and adulterated food materials during Onam.

The food safety wing, Tamil Nadu, had begun issuing food safety certificates to traders who despatched vegetables and fruits to Kerala, the minister said. Recently, Kerala had conveyed its concerns to the Tamil Nadu government regarding the dangerous levels of pesticides in fruit and vegetable consignments coming from that state. Sivakumar said that the food safety wing would intensify raids and inspections in the markets during the Onam season. Food Safety Commissioner T V Anupama, Joint Commissioner D Ashrafudeen, Health director Dr S Jayasankar and Additional Director S Ramesh attended the meet.

‘State Ahead in Registration’

More than half of the food business operators in the state had obtained either the food safety licence or registration, Health Minister V S Sivakumar said on Monday. Compared to other states, Kerala was far ahead in registering food businesses, he said. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had made licences compulsory for food businesses that had an annual turnover of `12 lakh and above, and registration for smaller businesses.

70 fall ill after eating laddoo at wedding, CMO orders free treatment

25 kgs of the sweet had been purchased from Haji Laddoo, a local sweet shop, for a marriage function in Nakkhas

Around 70 persons fell ill in the city’s Nakkhas area after consuming spurious laddoos from a local shop, police said on Monday. 

“25 kgs of the sweet had been purchased from Haji Laddoo, a local sweet shop, for a marriage function in Nakkhas. After its consumption, at least 70 persons who had attended the wedding fell ill,” said Thakurganj Station Officer, Samar Bahadur. He added that the FIR has not been registered so far as no complaint has been lodged. “A team of Food Safety Officers have collected the samples, though,” he said. 

Chowk Circle Officer Sarvesh Mishra said that the laddoos were purchased on Sunday for the marriage of one Mohammad Younus’ son. 

Lucknow’s chief medical officer Dr S N S Yadav said that a total of 58 cases of food poisoning due to the spurious laddoos’ intake were brought to his notice. He, however, added that “most of them are now out of danger”. 

“At least 50 persons were admitted to Balrampur hospital and 8 to KGMU. Seven patients from KGMU have been discharged so far,” he said. Yadav added that the patients were being given free treatment and that the ambulances will drop them home after they have been treated. He informed that eight doctors, ten nurses and sufficient support staff have been deployed to take care of the patients.

Iodine supplements during pregnancy may boost kids' IQ

Giving women iodine supplements during pregnancy could boost their children's IQ and also result in cost savings worth millions for the society and health care systems, a new UK study has found. 

The new estimates suggest that introducing iodine supplementation in pregnancy in the UK could save the National Health Service (NHS) around 200 pounds per expectant mother and provide monetary benefits to society of around 4500 pounds per child from increased lifetime earnings and lower public sector costs. 

With around 1.9 billion people and 241 million school-age children (aged 6-12 years) living in the 32 countries that have iodine deficiency, researchers concluded that universal iodine supplementation during pregnancy could be beneficial. 

"Iodine deficiency in pregnancy remains the leading cause of preventable retardation worldwide. Even mild iodine deficiency during pregnancy is associated with children with lower IQs," said co-author Kate Jolly, professor of Public Health at the University of Birmingham in the UK. 

"It's time for all women living in iodine deficient countries without universal supplementation of iodine, who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning a pregnancy to be advised to take a daily supplement containing iodine," Jolly said. 

Iodine is not made naturally in the body and must be consumed by eating foods like dairy and seafood. 

Severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy can cause substantial mental impairment and delayed development in children, resulting in a lower IQ and consequently lower educational attainment and earning potential, researchers said. 

International health organisations like World Health Organisation and the European Food Safety Authority recommend that pregnant and breastfeeding women take daily iodine supplements. 

A team of researchers from the University of Birmingham did a modelling study to examine the cost-effectiveness of iodine supplementation versus no supplementation for pregnant women in the UK. 

Using data from a systematic review of published studies, they modelled both the direct health service savings and monetary benefits to society (lifetime earnings) in terms of gains from an additional IQ point in the children. 

By converting the effects of iodine supplementation in pregnancy on developing brains into IQ points, the authors estimate that the benefits equate to 1.22 IQ points per child, with monetary benefits of around 199 pounds per expectant mother for the NHS, and 4,476 pounds per pregnancy for society. 

"As food fortification alone may not be enough to achieve iodine sufficiency for pregnant women, our results strengthen the case for universal iodine supplementation of all women before and during pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding in mild-to-moderate iodine deficient countries," researchers said. 

The study was published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal.