Popular noodles brand has lead in it

The company also misled the consumers by alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements.

The Supreme Court of India on January 3, vacated its stay on the Centre's 2015 action seeking damages of Rs6.4 billion (Dh338,057,043) from Nestle India limited - the manufacturer of Maggi noodles - for alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements.

The class action is rooted in the case of alleged high lead content and presence of MSG (monosodium glutamate) in Nestle's popular Maggi instant noodles.

The bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud today vacated the stay of the proceedings before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that were stayed way back in 2015 as the top court then was seized of the matter.

While vacating the stay on the proceedings on the class action by the Centre seeking damages of Rs640 crores, the court said the report of the Mysuru-based Central Food Technological Research Institute where the samples of Maggi noodles were tested would form the basis of the proceedings.

The court asked the Centre, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Nestle and others to argue before the NCDRC whether the consumers were misled by the company as contended by the Centre in its class action.

The Supreme Court had in 2015 put on hold proceedings before the NCDRC after Nestle moved the top court challenging the commission's order directing the testing of 16 samples of Meggi noodles to ascertain their safety for consumption.

The NCDRC had ordered the testing of the Maggie noodles in the course of the hearing of the Central government's class action against Nestle India, the manufacturer of Maggi noodles, seeking Rs6.4 billion in damages for alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements.

The Commission had directed that out of withdrawn stocks of Maggi noodles in the custody of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (of which 100 batch numbers were randomly noted by the local commissioner) 16 samples be sent for testing for presence of lead in any form and of MSG, including their quantity in the samples at the Export Inspection Council of India, Chennai.

Appearing for Nestle, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "The lead content was found to be within permissible limit and there is some amount of lead in lot of products."

Senior counsel told the court that the Mysuru-based Central Food Technological Research Institute has given the finding that the noodles contained lead "within permissible limits".

However, the Centre contended that the main issue in the class action was not whether noodles were harmful or not, but the company misled the consumers by alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements.

How much lead in your food can harm you?

After the Supreme Court revived the action suit against Nestle, the company's lawyers admitted to the presence of lead in the popular instant noodles. Do you know how much lead in your food can harm you?

The Supreme Court on Thursday revived the action suit against Nestle by NCDR by questioning the lead content in the popular Maggi noodles. The lawyers representing Nestle admitted to the presence of lead in the FMCG product. However, they argued that the lead content in the noodles was within permissible limits. Let's take a look at what is lead poisoning and how much lead in your food can harm you.

What is lead poisoning?

Lead, a highly toxic metal, is a very strong poison. Lead poisoning is a serious condition which can sometimes be fatal. It causes severe mental and physical impairment. Young children are most vulnerable to it as their brains and nervous systems are in the developing stage.

Though no amount of lead in the blood is safe, it is known that lead level as low as 5 micrograms per deciliter can lead to health problems in children.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

Lead poisoning usually builds up slowly. Hence, lead toxicity follows repeated exposures to small quantities of lead. 

According to Healthline, some of the symptoms of lead toxicity in adults are abdominal pain, abdominal cramps, aggressive behavious, sleep problems, constipation, irritability, headaches, loss of appetite, fatigue, memory loss and anemia among others.

In children, symptoms can be identified in the form of intellectual disability. For example, a child having behaviour problems, low IQ, poor grades at school, growth delays, etc.

Emergency symptoms in case of a high toxic dose of lead can be severe abdominal pain and cramping, vomiting, muscle weakness, seizures and coma. Lead poisoning can be diagnosed with a blood lead test.

Samples of jaggery, milk taken in Ambala

Ambala, January 5

A team of drug and food administration on Saturday took a sample of jaggery from Khurshid Gur Kolhu at Khudda Kalan in Ambala. The team had taken four samples of jaggery, two samples of milk, and some other food items on Friday.

While the samples of jaggery were taken from Dhiman Cane Crusher, Avsed Ali Gur Kohlu, Bansal Cane Crusher, and Shiv Shakti Cane Crusher in Nohni village of Ambala, the milk samples were taken from a milk vendor, Naresh Kumar, and Lucky Dairy in Saha block.

Besides these, samples of atta noodle, chocolate pastry, and guava juice were taken from different shops on Friday on the basis of complaints received.

Food Safety Officer (FSO) Subhash Chander said, “The consumption of jaggery and products made from it increases manifold in winters and to ensure that only good quality jaggery is provided to the customers, the samples have been taken. All samples will be sent to the food laboratory in Karnal for analysis.”

On the other hand, two milk samples, out of eight, taken from dairies and milk vendors in December have been found to be substandard. The FSO said, “Two samples — one was taken from a milk vendor, who belongs to Lohal Simbli, Rajpura, and another sample from Ambala cantonment — have been found to be substandard. The SNF (solids-not-fat) content was not found adequate in the milk. The fat content was adequate. More raids will be conducted in the coming days to check adulteration in milk.”

Health Minister Anil Vij said chemicals were used in jaggery making, hence directions had been issued to the Food Safety Officers across the state to take samples of jaggery and get these tested in a laboratory.