Nestlé resumes Maggi Noodles production at three plants

The product will have to undergo fresh round of tests to comply with the Bombay HC order before it hits market

New Delhi: Swiss packaged food maker Nestlé SA’s Indian unit, Nestlé India Ltd,has started producing Maggi Noodles at three of its five plants at Nanjangud (Karnataka), Moga (Punjab) and Bicholim (Goa) from Monday.

“We have resumed manufacturing of Maggi Noodles at three of our plants,” said a Nestlé India spokesperson.

The product will have to undergo fresh round of tests to comply with the Bombay high court order before it hits the market. “We shall commence sale only after the samples are cleared by these laboratories. We are engaging with the relevant state authorities and other stakeholders at our other manufacturing locations to commence manufacture at the earliest,” said the spokesperson.

Nestlé has Maggi Noodles production facilities in Moga (Punjab), Bicholim (Goa), Nanjangud (Karnataka), Taliwal (Himachal Pradesh) and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand). It also used to produce the instant noodles through contract manufacturers in West Bengal and Delhi.

On 17 October, Nestlé India said that three laboratories certified by the National Accreditation Board for Test and Calibration Laboratories declared Maggi Noodles safe for consumption.

The NABL tests were ordered by the Bombay high court, which set aside the Maggi ban imposed by food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on 13 August.

Nestlé India moved the high court after the FSSAI on 5 June ordered the company to withdraw all nine variants of the instant noodle brand from the market, calling them unsafe and hazardous for human consumption citing excess lead content and traces of monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer.

Last month, Nestlé India’s managing director Suresh Narayanan, appointed after the Maggi controversy broke, said the company hopes to bring the product back to the shop shelves by the year-end.

State governments of Gujarat and Karnataka have already lifted the ban on Maggi Noodles.

Nestlé India’s Maggi Noodles had earlier cleared tests in various countries, including the US, the UK, Singapore and Australia.

For the first time in 15 years, Nestlé India reported a loss of Rs.64.4 crore for the quarter ended 30 June after accounting for a one-time charge of Rs.451.6 crore related to the recall and destruction of Maggi Noodles, which contributed about 30% of the firm’s India sales.

The recurring impact of the ban on Maggi Noodles is likely impact the September quarter sales too. Nestlé India’s domestic sales growth for the September quarter was expected to drop by 19% year-on-year, said Abneesh Roy, associate director (institutional equity research) at Edelweiss Securities Ltd in a research note dated 6 October.

“Maggi is key to Nestlé’s franchisee in India, and would be the backbone for all future growth in the prepared dishes segment… We also look forward to seeing steps from Nestlé, to derisk its India business from this one brand,” said Sunita Sachdev, analyst with UBS Securities India Pvt. Ltd.

Noodle makers up the ante as Maggi relaunch nears

Brands such as Wai-Wai noodles which gained in the absence of Maggi, will now strengthen its presence with a distribution and marketing push

Rival brands are bracing up for the re-entry of Maggi after Nestle announced it had resumed production of the instant noodles in three states.

ITC, maker of the Yippee brand of noodles, is gearing up to introduce new variants soon apart from focusing on customer-engagement programmes. "Our products are innovative and differentiated. The Yippee Magic Masala variant has driven growth, but we will launch more variants that are under development," VL Rajesh, divisional chief executive, foods division, ITC said.

According to him, the company will kick off the second phase of a "reassurance" campaign launched a month ago. "The instant noodles category witnessed a significant decline in sales after the (Maggi) controversy. It was imperative to reinstate consumer trust in this category through a campaign, which we did," Rajesh added.

While, ITC has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to increase its sales Lalitpur (Nepal)-based Chaudhary Group (CG), which manufactures Wai-Wai noodles is focusing on its existing products. CG which had gained from the absence of Maggi, is planning a distribution and marketing push. Nirvana Chaudhary, managing director of the Chaudhary Group, said the company would soon launch a national advertising campaign and undertake on the ground initiatives in malls and housing societies.

"Developments in the past few months made us realise the trust consumers have on Wai-Wai. This prompted us to come up with a new marketing strategy to increase our visibility," Chaudhury said. Industry sources said this was the first time that Wai-Wai was undertaking such a massive exercise.

Experts said the fight for market share between Wai-Wai and Yippee was inevitable because both wanted to capitalise on Maggi's absence. The two companies also did not have competition from Indo-Nissin Foods’ Top Ramen noodles for three months following its recall from the market in June. Top Ramen has now been relaunched.

The Rs 3,500 crore instant noodle industry in India shrunk after the recall of Maggi to Rs 1,000 crore. Maggi noodles, which contributed 25-26% to Nestle’s Rs 9,800 crore revenue, was a Rs 2,500 crore brand, analysts said.

The challenge for existing players is not only to protect their market share but also grow quickly before Maggi stages a comeback.

"Nestle was quick to tap into the latent demand for Maggi right after the August 13 verdict of the Bombay High Court. Excitement is predictably high, which will result in good sales for the brand after its relaunch," said the chief executive of a consumer goods firm. "The pressure on existing players only grows," he added.

MAALAI MALAR NEWS

Maggi may face 'Maha' hurdle; state likely to reinforce ban

The Maharashtra government argues that they have sufficient powers to act under the Food Safety Act (FSA) for the interest of public health.

Nestle's flagship brand 'Maggi' instant noodles is unlikely to be on the shelves anytime soon if the Supreme Court accepts the plea that is likely to be filed by the Maharashtra government. 

The Maharashtra government argues that they have sufficient powers to act under the Food Safety Act (FSA) for the interest of public health. 

In the petition which has been accessed by CNBC-TV18’s Ashmit Kumar the state government seeks to reinforce the ban on the sale of the instant noodles, which had been lifted by the Bombay High Court. 

Sources say there were various legal arguments being raised by the state government. They have argued that there were legal remedies available to Nestle under FSA but those were not taken, and that the appeal before the Bombay High Court is not legally tenable. 

The state government also argues the veracity of the lab reports cannot be questioned because they were approved by the High Court. Incidentally, they are relying on the reports that the FSSAI had relied on in the first place. 

They state also argues that High Court’s observation that principles of National Justice were not followed are also case of erring argument by the Bombay High Court. 

So despite Nestle’s announcement that manufacturing is currently underway at three facilities they could still face legal hurdle, if the appeal was accepted by the Apex Court.

Maharashtra to move Supreme Court against HC order lifting ban on Maggi

The Maharashtra government has decided to move the Supreme Court against Bombay High Court's order lifting ban on Maggi noodles.

Earlier, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had banned Maggi noodles after finding lead levels beyond permissible limits, following which the company had withdrawn it from the market. Nestle India had then challenged the ban by FSSAI in the Bombay High Court.

Meanwhile, the Nestle plans to resume production of Maggi and launch it in markets by first week of November.

Karnataka and Gujarat had Monday revoked the ban on manufacture and sale of Nestle India's popular instant food brand.

KUMUDAM REPORTER ARTICLE

Diwali delicacies may be unsafe as food safety officers' crunch hits testing

Beware before you plan to buy sweets and chocolates for your family this festive season. For more than a year now, 60 per cent posts of food inspectors have been lying vacant.

Beware before you plan to buy sweets and chocolates for your family this festive season. For more than a year now, 60 per cent posts of food inspectors have been lying vacant. This is the peak season when the food department conducts rigorous checks on the shops selling milk and milk products. Lack of these inspectors might hamper the overall sampling process.

There are 32 sanctioned posts of food safety officers of which 20 posts have been lying vacant for more than a year now. The food safety officer assists the designated officer in all matters related to field inspections, including collection of samples and instituting prosecution proceedings in a court of law in defaulting cases.

The department has been waiting to get food inspectors for long but nothing has happened. The Food and Drug department of Delhi keeps surveillance over the market by organising surprise inspections and raids and collecting samples of such food articles which can be potentially adulterated, sub-standard or misbranded.

The department, on an average, receives 125 food samples in a month for testing. Sources in the health department added that due to the vacant posts, the overall process gets hampered.

Officials added that due to large number of food business operators in Delhi, the role and availability of such officers is extremely important. In 2014-2015, the department collected 1,480 samples of food items and sent them for testing.

"The posts have been lying vacant for more than a year now. We have escalated the matter to Delhi government and soon new people will be hired. Such posts should not remain vacant for long, as these officers have a direct link to people's health," Dr Mrinalini Darswal, Commissioner, Department of Food Safety, Delhi government told Mail Today.

The food inspectors are hired by Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB). There are 11 districts in the capital, for which there are 12 food safety officers. Interestingly, apart from conducting regular inspections, these food officers have other duties.

With these 12 officers, the department has begun the rigorous checking of the food items. "Our focus is to check the raw materials. During this season, the shopkeepers mix the old and stale food with the new packets and try to sell it to the customers," added Dr Darswal.

The department is also working on getting a hi-tech upgraded lab for testing food samples. Experts add that the lab will have better infrastructure, more people and upgraded equipment.

As per the official process, the food department receives a complaint about an adulterated food item, the report is then marked to the designated district officer, who along with the food safety officer visits the shop to collect the samples. The samples are then sent for testing where the food analyst supervises the work and sends the reports back to the concerned department.

FSDA launches drive against adulterated sweets in festive season

Agra: With the festive season in progress, cases of adulteration of food items are increasing. Keeping this in mind, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) Agra is taking action against adulterers and is conducting regular food checking and testing at different places around the city.

The department after receiving information about adulteration in milk, spices, tomato sauce and paneer, has seized 40 sacks of powder used in making sweets. Shops were found offering sweets and petha with aluminum foil dressing in place of silver foil. In the name of pistachio sweets, groundnut flakes excessively coloured with hazardouse green food pigment was being used, officials alleged.

"On Monday two petha samples collected along NH-2 from two locations were found unsafe. One sample had aluminium dressing in place of silver, while another had excessive synthetic food colouring (288 parts per million). The shops belonged to Roopkishore Agarwal and Santosh Singh," said Ram Naresh Yadav, designated officer, FSDA Agra. "Sweet samples from Shri Ram Traders, Peepal Mandi, collected on Sunday, were found to have aluminium foil dressing foil dressing and coloured groundnut flakes in place of pistachio. The samples collected will be tested at our laboratory and further action will be taken based on report findings," Yadav added.

The FSDA official explained that the law allows silver to be used in its edible form on sweets for decoration, but use of aluminium is not allowed as it can lead to serious health hazards. As per the food safety norms, colours up to 100 parts per million, a way of expressing very diluted concentrations of substances, are allowed in food items, beyond which they are harmful to humans.

Adulteration causes serious risk to health. Presence of harmful starch, urea-mixed milk, caustic soda, artificial sweetening chemicals, non-approved colored sweets and unhygienic cooking conditions lead to acute gastritis, serious diarrhoea, dysentery, dehydration and kidney inflammation among others, officials pointed out.

"On a complaint of adulterated sweet-making powder brand, two men had been arrested for copyright violation. A joint team of local police and FSDA seized 40 sacks of sweet-making powders. Samples collected are being sent for laboratory testing," FSDA officials added.

40% eateries in district operating without licence

There are about 20,000 eateries in the district, but as many as 8,000 food operators are operating without proper licences and are violating safety norms.

Despite getting an extension on the deadline for online registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, about 40% vendors in the district are yet to get themselves registered with the district health department. 

The deadline for registration has been extended thrice in the past one-and-a-half year. After the expiry of the previous deadline on August 4, the health department had further extended the deadline to February 4, 2016. 

However, sources in the health department said that only around 1,000 registrations have been made and 260 licences have been issued in the district through the online portal over the past 19 months. 

There are about 20,000 eateries in the district, but as many as 8,000 food operators are operating without proper licences and are violating safety norms. 

The department had stopped issuing manual registration and licences after the facility for online registration was started in the district in 2014. As per details, before the launch of the online facility, 848 eateries had got licences and 9,543 food operators, including kiosks, hotels, restaurants, dhabas, sweetmeat shops, canteens, tea stalls, meat sellers, milk sellers and grocery stores, had got themselves registrated under the act. 

Officials in the health department said that food operators such as local vendors and eateries hesitate to apply online as the process is more complex than the manual process and most are not familiar with the use of computers. 

Moreover, there is no provision of fine against violators as the state government had extended the deadline for applying. “If the government did not extend the date, we could have started issuing challans to violators,” said a senior health official, on the condition of anonymity. 

District health officer Rajpal Singh said, “We are doing our level best to create awareness and motivate food operators to get registered under the act. But there is no fear of fine among people.” 

The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, states that food operators who have an annual turnover of above `12 lakh should have mandatory licences while the remaining operators should get a registration certificate, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. 

The registration fee per applicant is Rs 100. To get a licence under act, the applicants have to pay `2,000, `3,000 or `5,000, depending on the kind of business. 

Registration process 

An applicant can log on to the government website http://foodlicensing.fssai.gov.in/and can register with the health department after furnishing complete details of the business and submitting the fee amount. 

Later, applicants will have to fill in a form seeking issuance of a licence or registration certificate and upload scanned copies of documents on the website. 

After completing the online process, health officials will visit the shop or eatery for physical verification.

Nestle to resume sales of Maggi by November

 

Swiss food giant Nestle has begun production of Maggi from three of its plants in India and the popular noodle can be expected to be back on shop shelves in a few weeks.The final date, however, has not been fixed yet, the company said on Monday .

The move to start production of Maggi comes after all 90 samples, covering six variants, tested by three laboratories mandated by the Bombay high court, were found to be safe, with lead content much below the permissible limits.

The imminent resumption of Maggi's sales marks an end of nearly six months of turmoil for the brand which has remained a favourite with consumers for years.

In June, Maggi was ordered off the shelves as the country's food regulator found high lead content in some of the samples of Maggi. The tough stance of the regulator triggered a scare among food companies and foreign investors.

“We have resumed manufacturing of Maggi noodles at three of our plants, at Nanjangud (Karnataka), Moga (Punjab) and Bicholim (Goa). In compliance with the orders of the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay , fresh samples from these batches will be sent for testing to the three accredited laboratories designated by the HC,“ said a Nestle spokeswoman. Nestle will commence sale of Maggi only after the samples are cleared by these laboratories, said a company spokesman. “We are engaging with the relevant State authorities and other stakeholders at our other manufacturing locations to commence manufacture at the earliest,“ she said.

The controversy over Maggi had dealt a huge blow to the com pany , its suppliers, factories, employees, truckers and distributors. “Consumers love Maggi the way it is and it's my job to give them Maggi the way it is,“ Nestle India managing director Suresh Narayanan had told TOI in an interview last month.

The company had planned to bring Maggi back in the market by the end of the year but with the results of the tests they would want to hit the shelves in the festival season and seek to help nurse the brand which has been a comfort snack for millions.

Nestle India has conducted over 3,500 tests representing over 200 million packs in both national as well as international accredited laboratories and all reports are clear. In addition to these, various countries including USA, UK, Singapore, Australia and others have found Maggi noodles manufactured in India safe for consumption.

Paswan in the thick of Maggi ban

After Nestle obtained official clearance for Maggi Noodles, union minister of consumer affairs Ram Vilas Paswan finds himself in the hot seat and having much explaining to do on charges that he took a hasty step in ordering the ban on Maggi Noodles which has cost Nestle a colossal loss of over Rs.600 crore in sales.

Despite Nestle pleading that the laboratory tests on Maggi Noodles were questionable and rejecting requests for a review, Paswan reportedly went ahead in ordering Maggi out of the shelves.

Now that Maggi Noodle is back with a bang, after recent tests show that the lead content was well within the safety limit, there are voices demanding to know why Paswan ignored the pleas for more tests.

Maggi Noodle was banned after the June 5,2015 order of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and a similar order by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Authority (FDA) directing it to withdraw all variants of the noodles, citing the presence of excessive lead. However 

The Bombay High Court on August 14,2015 set aside the countrywide ban on nine variants of Nestle’s Maggi instant noodles, saying the national food regulator had acted in an “arbitrary” manner and not followed the “principles of natural justice” while banning the product. The court, however, ordered Nestle India to conduct fresh safety tests on the product before relaunching it. 

Interestingly, a recent sting operation carried out by India Today, exposed the whole fraud of food tests being done when food inspectors in UP were caught on tape agreeing to pass a product despite having high lead content for some money. The Maggi ban, which now has been laid at the doorstep of Paswan appears to have given rise to speculations that he had hastily ordered the ban after Nestle for reasons best known to him.

Aquafina Admits That It’s Just Selling Tap Water Bottled & Labelled As Mineral Water In US

Brand loyalty is a phenomenon that has gripped the modern world and has led people to believe that they must pay a certain decided price just for a label. But what if people were to discover that apart from the labels, the product they are paying from is no different from something they procure anywhere else?

There's some interesting news for all those people who insist on drinking "bottled mineral water" for the sake of personal health and hygiene. As per a recent admission by Aquafina in the US, reported by ABC News, it's just tap water behind those labels showing glorious mountains.

The revelation comes after Aquafina in the US was forced to specify PWS (Public Water Source) on its labels, under pressure from Accountability International. The company said it was reasonable to make people understand that they were paying for water that is easily available in their bathroom sink.

The development has also sparked off a debate about tap water being unhealthy. Making people pay more for nothing is one thing, but the tonnes of plastic waste generated from the billion dollar industry, which is floating in the sea and polluting the environment, is a major cause of concern.

On its part PepsiCo India issued a statement saying, “As stated on the label, Aquafina is packaged drinking water with purity guaranteed. As per PepsiCo’s standard process, water used in Aquafina goes through stringent quality checks and treatment to ensure that it is potable. Once this process is complete, the water is further treated through a rigorous, five-step state-of-the-art purification process to ensure that all physical and chemical impurities and harmful microbes are removed. We at PepsiCo, rigorously adhere to the requirements set out in applicable Indian Food Safety and Standards Regulations and Bureau of Indian Standards requirement for packaged drinking water. That's how we ensure that you get a clean, pure taste every time you open a bottle of Aquafina.”

Of course, tap water in the US is drinkable. So in no way was this endangering the drinkers. And this issue is restricted to the US alone. The water sold in India is pure and much, much cleaner than what we get in our taps.