Some noodle brands are sub-standard: Uttar Pradesh food safety department

Food safety officer of Barabanki district Sanjay Singh says notices have been sent to three companies

Barabanki: The Uttar Pradesh (UP) food safety department has found samples of some instant noodle brands “sub-standard” with ash content in the taste maker exceeding the prescribed limits.

“The samples of Knorr Soupy Noodles, Horlicks Foodles Noodles and Ching’s Hot Garlic Instant Noodles were picked up from a mall in the city in May last year for testing and its report was received about a fortnight ago,” food safety officer of Barabanki district, Sanjay Singh, said.

The samples were sent to the government-run food analysis laboratory in Lucknow where it was found that “total ash of the taste maker exceeds the maximum prescribed limits... hence the samples are sub-standard,” Singh said.

Against the prescribed limit of 1%, ash content was found to be 1.83% in Ching’s noodles, while in Foodles it was 2.37% and in Soupy noodles it was 1.89%, he said.

Notices were sent to all the three companies a week ago giving them a month’s time to make an appeal, he said.

No immediate comments were received from the companies. To a question, Singh said the report did not mention the health hazards caused by ash content higher than prescribed limits.

The UP food safety department in May last had found high lead content and presence of taste enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) in samples of Maggi noodles. Later in June, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banned Maggi noodles, alleging that the instant noodles were “unsafe and hazardous” due to higher than permissible lead content and presence of MSG.

Nestle had then pulled the product off the shelves. The instant noodle brand made a comeback in November after passing tests at three government laboratories, after which the Bombay high court removed the ban.