Govt laboratory test report shows Maggi safe for consumption: Nestle India

The local arm of the Swiss packaged food company said that the reports found lead levels for all samples within permissible limit

In June 2015, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had banned Maggi noodles.

New Delhi: A government laboratory that tested 29 samples of Maggi noodles at the instance of the Supreme Court has reported that the popular snack is safe for consumption, boosting the prospects of the Indian arm of swiss multinational Nestle in a case before the court.

Nestle India said on Monday that the tests conducted by the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru, a government laboratory found nothing wrong with the product.

The report was submitted to the court on 6 April and released to the company late last week.

The local arm of the Swiss packaged food company said that the reports found lead levels for all samples within permissible limit. Mint has not seen a copy of the report.

On 13 January, the apex court asked the national research lab, approved by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), to clarify if lead levels in the samples of Maggi noodles it tested on 16 December were within prescribed levels.

According to Nestle India’s statement, all 29 samples of Maggi noodles (13 and 16 in two tranches) were collected by the relevant authorities following due process and then directly submitted to CFTRI. “The CFTRI findings and the recent Order dated 31 March 2016, issued by the Food Standards and Safety Authority of India (FSSAI), clarifies that additive MSG can be used under Good Manufacturing Practices in permitted food products and there is no prescribed level,” it added.

The local unit of the Swiss packaged food company was embroiled in a controversy after FSSAI banned the sale of Maggi on 5 June 2015, citing the presence of monosodium glutamate and excess lead. The company could not sell the popular snack for six months in 2015. Nestle India relaunched Maggi noodles in November.

For the year to December (Nestlé India follows a January-December accounting year), net profit fell 52% to Rs.563.27 crore.

In its annual results statement, Nestle India said, “The company faced an unusual situation with Maggi Noodles that impacted its operations during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters. The results for the year and for the 4th quarter ended 31 December, 2015 are not fully comparable with the results of the previous corresponding periods.”

Equity analysts remain optimistic about the prospects of Nestle India. “We remain positive on Nestlé from 2-3 years’ perspective, being a strong play on urban revival. But over medium term, the company’s margins and volumes will remain under pressure,” Edelweiss Securities analyst Abneesh Roy said in a note on 15 February.