FOOD SAFETY LATEST

Aug 13, 2015

EXTENSION OF TIME PERIOD FOR THE COMPLIANCE OF FSSAI LICENSE NUMBER AND LOGO NOTIFICATION

Maggi ban: FSSAI keeping options open

FSSAI says it is ready to challenge Bombay high court order on quashing ban on Maggi

New Delhi: Food regulator FSSAI on Thursday said it is keeping its options open on whether to challenge the Bombay High Court order quashing its ban on Nestle India’s Maggi noodles.

“Supreme Court option is neither ruled in nor ruled out,” Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Chairman Ashish Bahuguna said. In a major relief to Nestle India, the Bombay High Court today quashed the orders of FSSAI and Maharashtra food regulator FDA, which had banned nine variants of Maggi noodles in the country.

The court also said that the principles of natural justice were not followed in executing the ban as the manufacturer was not given a hearing. Stating that the regulator would decide on its next course of action after studying the High Court order, Bahuguna said, “I cannot say anything till I receive the court orders.”

“Its only if I find we are not in agreement with the court order, if I feel that the court order has not taken into submission of the authority, it’s only then I will think of going to Supreme court,” Bahuguna told reporters here when asked whether FSSAI would approach the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court order.

To another query on whether FSSAI’s doors were still open for Nestle and can the company come for fresh testing, Bahuguna said, “Doors were always open to Nestle. Doors were never been shut.” Nestle India shares today soared nearly 3% higher to close at `6,356.70 at the BSE after the court order.

A division bench of the high court has allowed Nestle to go in for fresh testing of five samples of each variant of the noodles at three independent laboratories in Punjab, Hyderabad and Jaipur which were accredited with National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). These samples would be taken out of the 750 samples preserved by the company following the ban.

A huge stock of Maggi noodles was destroyed by Nestle after the ban was imposed by the food regulators. If the lead content is found below permissible limits by these three labs, Nestle India will be allowed to manufacture Maggi noodles, Justices V M Kanade and B P Colabawala said.

The labs have been asked to submit their report within six weeks.

Will go through the judgement, before taking any action: J P Nadda

NEW DELHI: The government today said it will go through the judgement of Bombay High Court, which lifted the nationwide ban imposed by Indian food regulators on Maggi noodles, before taking next course of action.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda said that his Ministry was aware of the judgement and would like to go into the details and consult the officials before taking further action.

"First of all let me go through the details of the judgement. We have heard about it. I would like to go into the detail and see what does the judgement say. Accordingly, after the sitting (meeting) with officials, we will decide about the next course of action," Nadda said.

The Bombay High Court today lifted the nationwide ban imposed by Indian food regulators on Maggi noodles, providing a conditional relief to the popular snack's manufacturer Nestle India Pvt Ltd as it ordered a fresh test of samples in three independent laboratories across India.

It said that if the fresh tests show that lead content was below permissible limit, then the company will be allowed to manufacture and sell Maggi again in the country.

A division bench comprising justices V M Kanade and B P Colabawalla also set aside the June 5 order of the central government's Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and also quashed the order of Maharashtra's Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) banning production and sale of Maggi noodles in India and the state, respectively.

Both the food regulators had in the impugned orders alleged that lead content in Maggi noodles was beyond the permissible limit and asked the company to refrain from selling all nine variants of its product as it may cause harm to public health.

Central food regulator FSSAI meanwhile today said its "doors were never shut" for Nestle India with regard to Maggi.

FSSAI also said that an appeal before the Supreme Court is "neither ruled in, nor ruled out" as yet.

Maggi case: FSSAI to decide on moving SC by evening

The Bombay High Court today set aside the ban order subject to fresh tests being satisfactory

The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will take a decision on whether to move Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court order on the Maggi case after it has gone through the full verdict. An FSSAI official told Business Standard, "We are yet to receive a copy of the order. We can talk about it once we have read it." Sources said a decision was expected later in the evening.

The FSSAI had on June 5 had ordered recall of Nestle India’s Maggi noodles from all over the country and had asked the company to stop manufacturing the product, calling it "hazardous" for human consumption . Nestle Indiahad moved Bombay High Court against the order. On Thursday, the court set aside the oder, but asked the Swiss food major to get its noodle samples tested at three FSSAI accredited labs—Hyderabad, Mohali and Jaipur.

While ministers and industry had started speaking out against the FSSAI order in the recent past, consumer affairs ministry sued Nestle India at the consumer court seeking damages worth Rs 640 crore under various provisions.

FSSAI CEO Yudhvir Singh Malik had in a recent interview told this newspaper that he was more worried about children consuming noodles with lead in it, rather than about anything else. ‘’If Im worried about my children, I should be worried about others’ children too.’’

FSSAI order was based on tests of Maggi noodles samples by about half a dozen state laboratories, showing excessive lead and presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG). The issue came into prominence recently when Goa Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) got the samples tested at the renowned CFTRI (Centre for Food Technology Research Institute) at Mysuru, which showed that the product was in compliance with standards set by FSSAI.

After Maggi ban revoked, Nestle says it ‘will comply with court order to undertake fresh tests’

The Bombay High Court quashed orders of Indian food regulators banning nine variants of the noodles brand in the country after observing that principles of natural justice were not followed.

“Nestle India respects the decision made on August 13 by the Honourable Bombay High Court to revoke the ban order passed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and FDA, Maharashtra, on Maggi noodles and will comply with the order to undertake fresh tests,” the company said in a statement.

Nestle India on Thursday said it will comply with the order to undertake fresh tests while welcoming Bombay High Court’s judgment that quashed ban on Maggi instant noodles in the country.

Nestle India remains committed to working with FSSAI, FDA Maharashtra and other stakeholders, it added. It, however, did not spell out on how soon the company would start manufacturing and selling the instant noodles.

In a BSE filing, Nestle India said, “Manufacture and sale of Maggi noodles is subject to certain conditions, which will be informed after the judgment is received. We await copy of the judgment.”

“It is Nestle India’s endeavour to get Maggi noodles back on the shelves as soon as possible for the benefit of consumers.”

Earlier, in the day, the Bombay High Court quashed orders of Indian food regulators banning nine variants of the noodles brand in the country after observing that principles of natural justice were not followed.

A division bench of the high court allowed Nestle to go in for fresh test by sending five samples of each variant of noodles to three independent laboratories in Punjab, Hyderabad and Jaipur that are accredited with the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

These would be taken out of the 750 samples preserved by the company following the ban imposed by FSSAI in June.

The ban on Maggi had hit Nestle India’s earnings and the company reported a standalone loss of Rs 64.40 crore for the June quarter — its first quarterly loss in over three decades. It had posted a net profit of Rs 287.86 crore in April-June of 2014-15.

Bombay HC lifts ban on Maggi

It directed re-testing of Maggi samples within six weeks in three accredited labs in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Jaipur.

Ruling in favour of Nestle India, the Bombay High Court on Thursday lifted the ban on Maggi noodles by setting aside the orders of food authorities. A Division Bench of Justices V.M. Kanade and B.P. Colabawalla deemed the orders of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) "arbitrary, unjust and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution."

Re-testing within six weeks

The Court directed re-testing of Maagi samples within six weeks in three accredited labs in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Jaipur. "After examining rivals contentions, we have come to the conclusion that principles of natural justice were not followed and on that ground alone the petition is allowed, particularly when the petitioner had given a press release a day before the ban that it had recalled the products," the court observed.

The Bench held that labs in which the samples were earlier tested, were not authorised to test for lead and the mandatory testing procedures were not followed.

Public health concern

The court remarked that though it was setting aside the ban order, it was " still concerned about public interest and public health." Therefore, it ordered fresh tests.

In June, Nestle India had filed petitioned to the court seeking revocation of the ban on Magginoodles and quashing of the order of FSSAI which had declared the product unsafe for consumption.

FSSAI contended that it can take action against food manufacturers on the basis of mere suspicion about the quality of their food products. Maggi products were deemed unsafe due to major violations, such as misleading labelling on MSG (monosodium glutamate), presence of lead in excess and launching of oats tastemaker without assessment. The Maharashtra government argued that the company had not followed the due procedures under the Act Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Nestle India, on the other hand, sought to discredit the entire testing procedures saying that the labs testing Maggi samples were not accredited to test for lead content and there was wide variation in the results in different States.

In its petition, Nestle had said that the orders passed by the food regulators and State were illegal, arbitrary and violated the principles of natural justice. The company contested the results of excess lead in the noodles and tastemaker claiming that the testing laboratories were not accredited. The authorities, on the other hand, argued that Nestle had not followed due procedures as per the Food Safety Act.

Here's why you may not still see Maggi on your plates any time soon

While there's reason for Nestle India and ardent Maggi lovers to cheer, there's still sometime before the two-minute noodles will be on your plates.

The Bombay High Court today lifted the ban on Maggi noodles, bringing much-needed respite to Nestle India, whose financials tanked in the second quarter after its flagship product was taken off the shelves. Nestle India reported a net loss of Rs 64.40 crore versus a profit of Rs 287.86 crore in the previous financial year.

There's definitely a reason to cheer for Nestle India and for ardent Maggi lovers, but there's still sometime before the two-minute noodles will be on your plates again.

Here's what the Bombay High Court said in its Maggi verdict today:

-- The Bombay HC quashed orders of food regulators – Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FFSAI) and Maharashtra's Food and Drugs Department (FDA) -- banning Maggi noodles for six weeks. It refused to grant stay on its own order on a plea.

-- Principles of natural justice were not followed because the company wasn't given a hearing.

-- In the six weeks that the ban has been lifted, Nestle India will be allowed to send five samples of each variant of noodles for fresh testing to three labs in Punjab, Hyderabad and Jaipur.

-- Laboratories where the tests were performed before, were not authorised.

-- The authorised test labs have to be accredited with National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

-- These samples will be drawn out of the 750 pieces still stored by the company following the ban.

-- Nestle India still has to hold off production of the noodles till the test results arrive. If lead content is found to be below permissible limit by the three labs, Nestle will be allowed to manufacture Maggi noodles.

After the verdict, shares of Nestle India surged nearly 6% today.

Nestle told to do more Maggi tests as court sets aside recall order

Court said the nine variants of Maggi noodles should be sent for testing to three accredited labs in India

The court gave six weeks for the tests to be carried out. If the test results show lead is found within permissible levels of 2.5 ppm, Nestle is free to resume manufacture and sales of Maggi noodles .

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Thursday set aside the Indian food safety regulator’s order for Nestle India Ltd to withdraw its Maggi noodles and called for fresh tests to be conducted within six weeks.

In the interim, the company cannot make or sell Maggi noodles, it said.

The court said the nine Maggi variants should be tested at three accredited laboratories in India certified by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

If the test results show lead is found within permissible levels of 2.5 ppm, Nestle is free to resume manufacture and sales of Maggi noodles.

The judge also noted that principles of natural justice were not followed in the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) 5 June order.

Nestle shares rose as much as 5.8% after the court order, and were trading at `6408 apiece, up 3.6%, while the benchmark Sensex was up 0.29% at 27,591.17 points.

Nestlé had to withdraw its instant noodles brand Maggi from the market over allegations of high lead content and presence of MSG (monosodium glutamate).

FSSAI asked Nestle India to immediately withdraw all nine variants of its Maggi noodles, calling them “unsafe and hazardous” for human consumption.

Following the order, Nestle said it would recall all Maggi noodles packets from the market. The company estimated it would have to destroy more than 30,000 tonnes of the noodles. The process is yet to be completed.

On 12 June, Nestle India filed a case challenging the order passed by FSSAI and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Maharashtra banning the production and distribution of Maggi noodles. Nestle also claimed that Maggi is safe for human consumption based on tests conducted in its own laboratory and an independent third-party laboratory, which contradicted the test reports cited by FSSAI.

On 5 August, FSSAI further clarified that it has not given “any clean chit” to Nestle India regarding the safety of Maggi noodles.

On Wednesday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said its tests had found lead levels within acceptable levels for US consumers. Countries such as the UK, Singapore, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and Hong Kong have already declared Maggi noodles safe.

The ban on the sale of Maggi noodles has already impacted Nestle India’s revenue. For the first time in 15 years, the local unit of the Swiss packaged food firm reported a quarterly loss, for the three months ending 30 June. Maggi noodles accounted for about 30% of its sales. Nestle India reported a loss of `64.4 crore in the April-June quarter, compared with a net profit of `287.86 crore in the year-ago period.

On 11 August, the government filed a class action suit against Nestle India seeking about `640 crore in damages for alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements.

The department has filed this class action suit on behalf of the large number of consumers of Maggi in the country against Nestle India on grounds of unfair trade practices, sale of defective goods and sale of Maggi Oats Noodles to the public without product approval, the ministry said.

The consumer affairs ministry has dragged the company to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) using a provision for the first time in the nearly three-decade-old Consumer Protection Act.

A day after the class action suit was filed, Nestle India said it was disappointed with the ‘unprecedented step’.

“We are disappointed with the unprecedented step of filing of a complaint before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) against Nestle India,” the company said in a statement.

Nestle India clarified that it maintained “the highest standards of food quality and safety in the manufacture of all its products” and “have a stringent programme to test the ingredients that go to make Maggi noodles”.

The company said it had tested over 2,700 samples of Maggi noodles by several accredited laboratories both in India and abroad and each one of the tests showed lead to be far below the permissible limits.

“In addition, Maggi noodles made in India have been tested and found to be safe for consumption by the authorities of several countries across the world,” the company claimed.

The NCRDC will hear the case on 14 August, according to its website.

What the Bombay HC order means for Maggi

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday lifted the ban on Nestle's flagship instant noodle brand Maggi.

However, Maggi will not be up for sale in the market immediately.

Maggi samples will have to go through fresh tests and if results are fine, only then can Nestle manufacture and sell Maggi in India.

As per the HC order, Nestle will have to send five samples of each variant of noodles for fresh testing to three labs in Punjab, Hyderabad and Jaipur.

If lead content is found below permissible limit by the three labs, Nestle will be allowed to manufacture Maggi noodles.

While passing the order, the Bombzy HC said that "principles of natural justice was not followed while banning Maggi noodles".

"Laboratories where tests were performed were not authorized," the HC said.

So, consumers will have to wait a while longer for Maggi to be back on the shelves.

Bombay HC sets aside ban on Maggi noodles

Orders fresh testing of noodles at 3 independant labs; Maggi to be available at retail outlets only if tests satisfactory

In a major relief to Maggi noodles manufacturer Nestle India, the Bombay High Court today quashed the orders of Indian food regulators that banned nine variants of noodles in the country.

A division bench of the High Court allowed Nestle to go in for fresh testing by sending five samples of each variant to three independent laboratories in Punjab, Hyderabad and Jaipur, which were accredited with National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

These samples would be taken out of the 750 samples preserved by the company following the ban. A huge stock of Maggi noodles was destroyed by Nestle after the banwas imposed by the food regulators.

If the lead content is found below permissible limits by these three labs, Nestle, the Indian arm of Swiss company, will be allowed to manufacture Maggi noodles, Justices V M Kanade and B P Colabawala said.

The labs have been asked to submit their report within six weeks.

While quashing the orders of the food regulators, namely Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Maharashtra's Food and Drugs Department (FDA), the court said that principles of natural justice were not followed because the manufacturer was not given a hearing.

Moreover, the laboratories, where tests were performed to determine lead content in Maggi, were not authorised, the court observed.

The judges refused to grant stay on their order on a plea made by food regulators. They said the company had given an undertaking that it would not manufacture or sell Maggi noodles till the results of the three labs were received.

"The fresh tests would also take some time. Hence, there was no need to grant a stay on the order," the judges said.

The HC held that the petitions filed by Nestle challenging the nation-wide ban on Maggi noodles was maintainable and that it (the high court) had the jurisdiction to hear it under powers derived by it under Article 226 of the Constitution.

FSSAI and FDA had earlier banned Maggi noodles saying the samples of noodles tested by them contained 'lead beyond permissible limit'.

Nestle had argued that its product did not contain 'lead' in excess of permissible ceiling and challenged the tests by FSSAI and FDA.

DINAMALAR NEWS

'மேகி நுாடுல்ஸ்' சர்ச்சையை தொடர்ந்து, மாநிலம் முழுவதும் எடுக்கப்பட்ட உணவு மாதிரிகளின் முடிவுகள், வெளியிடப்படாமல் உள்ளன. 'இந்த விஷயத்தில், அரசு மவுனமாக உள்ளது ஏன்?' என, மக்கள் கேள்வி எழுப்பி உள்ளனர்.

'நெஸ்லே' நிறுவன தயாரிப்பான, 'மேகி நுாடுல்ஸ்'சில், உடலுக்கு தீங்கு விளைவிக்கும் வேதிப்பொருட்கள் உள்ளதை உறுதி செய்த மத்திய அரசு, அவற்றின் விற்பனைக்கு தடை விதித்தது. தமிழகத்தில், உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரிகள் நடத்திய ஆய்வில், அனுமதியை விட, காரீயத்தின் அளவு அதிகமாக இருந்ததால், ஆறு நிறுவனங்களின் நுாடுல்ஸ் விற்பனைக்கு, மாநில அரசு தடை விதித்தது. சென்னை மாவட்ட மாதிரி முடிவுகள் அடிப்படையில், இந்த நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்பட்டது. ஆனால், மாநிலம் முழுவதும் எடுக்கப்பட்ட, 'நுாடுல்ஸ்'சின், 65 மாதிரி முடிவுகள், இரு மாதங்களாகியும் இன்னும் வெளியிடப்படவில்லை.

மாநிலம் முழுவதும், சிப்ஸ் முதல் பஞ்சாமிர்தம் வரை, 20க்கும் மேற்பட்ட பொருட்களின், 2,000க்கும் மேற்பட்ட மாதிரிகள், பரிசோதனைக்கு அனுப்பப்பட்டன. இரு மாதங்களாகியும், முடிவுகள் குறித்த விவரங்கள் வெளியிடப்படவில்லை. 'மாதிரி முடிவுகள் குறித்து, வாய் திறக்கக் கூடாது என, அரசு கிடுக்கிப்பிடி போடப்பட்டு உள்ளதால், முடிவுகள் இன்னும்வரவில்லை' என, மாவட்ட நியமன அலுவலர்கள் சமாளித்து வருகின்றனர்.

இதுகுறித்து, பெயர் குறிப்பிட விரும்பாத அதிகாரி ஒருவர் கூறியதாவது:இரண்டு மாதங்களுக்கு முன் எடுக்கப்பட்டவை, சட்ட ரீதியான மாதிரிகள் அல்ல; சோதனை மாதிரிகள் என, அதிகாரிகள் சமாளித்து வருகின்றனர். உள்ளூர் அதிகாரிகளால் கசிந்த இத்தகவல், அரசுக்கு தர்ம சங்கடத்தை ஏற்படுத்தியது. எனவே, 'மாதிரி முடிவுகளை, மாவட்ட அதிகாரிகள் வெளியிடக் கூடாது; உணவு பாதுகாப்புத் துறை கமிஷனருக்கு, நேரடியாக அனுப்ப வேண்டும்' என, உத்தரவிடப்பட்டு உள்ளது. இதனால், மாதிரி முடிவுகள் கிடைத்தாலும், அதை வெளியில் கூற முடியவில்லை.இவ்வாறு, அவர் கூறினார்.

'மாதிரி முடிவுகள் அடிப்படையில், கடும் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும்' என, அறிவித்த மாநிலஅரசு, முடிவுகளை, அரசு வெளிப்படையாக தெரிவிக்க வேண்டும் என, சமூக ஆர்வலர்கள் கருத்து தெரிவித்து உள்ளனர்.

மாதிரிக்கான பொருட்கள்:

சிப்ஸ் வகைகள், மசாலா பவுடர், பால் பவுடர், சமையல் எண்ணெய், நெய், ரெடிமேட் சப்பாத்தி, பரோட்டா, பழங்கள், பதப்படுத்திய காய்கறிகள், உப்பு, குளிர்பானங்கள், பாட்டில், கேன் குடிநீர், ஊறுகாய், பஞ்சாமிர்தம், ரெடிமேட் வத்தல் குழம்பு, கறிவேப்பிலை பொடி பேஸ்ட், சில்லி - சாஸ் வகைகள் உட்பட, உணவு பாதுகாப்புத் துறையினரால், 20க்கும் மேற்பட்ட மாதிரிகள் எடுக்கப்பட்டன.

அரசால் தடை செய்யப்பட்டவை:

மேகி நுாடுல்ஸ், வாய் வாய் எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் நுாடுல்ஸ், ரிலையன்ஸ் செலக்ட் இன்ஸ்டன்ட் நுாடுல்ஸ், ஸ்மித் அண்டு ஜோன்ஸ் சிக்கன் மசாலா நுாடுல்ஸ், கிரைன் சக்தி வெஜ் ஆட்டா நுாடுல்ஸ், நியூ எக்ஸ்ட்ரா டெலிஷியஸ் சிக்கன் நுாடுல்ஸ் என, ஆறு நிறுவன நுாடுல்ஸ் தயாரிப்பு, விற்பனைக்கும் தமிழக அரசு, ஜூன் மாதம் தடை விதித்தது.

DINAMALAR NEWS

Tera Pak Milk may be unfit during Fasts

Aug 12, 2015

Bombay High Court to decide on Maggi ban tomorrow

Thursday's order will put an end the long-drawn legal tussle between Nestle India and food authorities of both Maharashtra state and centre.

After hearing arguments for over a fortnight and examining several bundles of documents, the Bombay is set to pronounce whether or not India’s food regulator was right in banning Maggi noodles manufactured by food giant Nestle India.

On June 5, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered Nestle India to withdraw all nine variants of Maggi instant noodles from the market terming them “unsafe and hazardous” for human consumption. The company had earlier argued that CEO of FSSAI, while passing the order had acted in an “emergent, drastic and arbitrary” fashion while raising doubts over his jurisdiction. Nestle also argued that the food regulator had not served any notice before passing the order of ban. A similar order was passed the Maharashtra Food and Drug Authority.

According to the FSSAI, the bone of contention is Maggi noodles having excessive lead content, which Nestle India has vehemently denied.

The company has also been accused of misleading the customers by mentioning “no added msg” on its packets.

On the contrary, Nestle India has argued in HC that before asking them to ban the product, there ought to have been a mention of injury or risk to health by the company.

Therefore, it was argued in court, that the merely by claiming there was a quality issue, the order could not have been passed.

The company claimed it has been operating in India for 30 years, in additional to having a worldwide reach. Children are being told that they are consuming poison, which is worrisome for its credibility and reputation, it was argued.

Tomorrow’s order will put an end the long-drawn legal tussle between Nestle India and food authorities of both Maharashtra state and centre.

Maggi Noodles Correctly Banned? Court Expected to Decide Tomorrow

NEW DELHI: A claim for 640 crores or 99 million dollars in damages from food group Nestle after a food scare involving Maggi noodles will be heard on Friday by the country's top consumer forum. Tomorrow, the Bombay High Court is expected to rule on whether the government correctly enforced a country-wide ban on the popular snack.

The claim for damages, made on behalf of Indian consumers by the government, was filed with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), which has semi-judicial powers.

Nestle has been accused of unfair trade practices in the first case in India that is being seen as a class-action suit against a multinational.

"We are disappointed with the unprecedented step of filing of a complaint before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) against Nestle India. Based on newspaper reports it appears that the complaint makes similar allegations which were made to ban the product on 5th June 2015," said a statement from the company.

In June, the country's food safety regulator banned Maggi as "unsafe and hazardous for human consumption" after excessive amounts of lead were reported in samples tested in Uttar Pradesh. Nestle was also accused of violating labelling rules and misleading customers by declaring the noodles have do not contain added MSG or added mono-sodium glutamate (MSG), a taste enhancer.

Nestle has recalled Maggi from shops across the country while asserting its snack is safe and challenging the ban in the Bombay High Court.

Disappointed with govt's unprecedented step: Nestle India

A day after the government filed a Rs 640-crore class action suit against Nestle India before consumer redressal forum NCDRC, the company today said it is disappointed with the 'unprecedented step'.

"We are disappointed with the unprecedented step of filing of a complaint before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) against Nestle India," the company said in a statement.

Based on newspaper reports it appears that the complaint makes similar allegations which were made to ban the product on June 5, 2015. These issues are awaiting judgment by the Hon'ble Bombay High Court, it added.

Yesterday, the Consumer Affairs Ministry had flied a case before the consumer forum NCDRC seeking Rs 284.45 crore in basic damages and another Rs 355.50 crore in punitive damages totalling Rs 639.95 crore from the Swiss giant.

In the petition, the ministry said it is in the process of "tabulating further damages" and will seek additional damages when further facts and data emerges.

The company, however, insisted that it maintained "the highest standards of food quality and safety in the manufacture of all its products" and "have a stringent programme to test the ingredients that go to make Maggi noodles".

Nestle India further said in recent months, it had tested over 2,700 samples of Maggi noodles by several accredited laboratories both in India and abroad and each one of the tests showed lead to be far below the permissible limits.

"In addition Maggi noodles made in India have been tested and found to be safe for consumption by the authorities of several countries across the world," the company claimed.

Nestle chairman says lab tests show Indian noodles safe-paper

Aug 12 Indian authorities have forced Nestle to burn 29,000 tonnes worth of food in a noodle health scare, Chairman Peter Brabeck told a newspaper, dismissing the allegations as unfounded.

"Laboratories in the United States, Britain, Australia and Singapore did not find anything harmful in the noodles. Our products are safe for consumers," he was quoted as saying by Swiss paper Handelszeitung in an advance summary of a story. He said the Indian case was "not harmless and not to be underestimated."

First onus on food recall lies with business operator

The first responsibility for recall of food has been cast upon the food business operator, parliament was told on Tuesday.

"Lack of food recall policy is not accountable for non-conformity on food safety standards. As a matter of fact, the first responsibility for recall of food has been cast upon the food business operator," Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

"As per the international practices, a food recall is an action taken to remove the food which is unsafe from the entire food supply chain from the manufacturer to the consumer. However, the food recall procedures may vary from country to country," she added.

The minister's comment came at a time when an international company had to recall its noodle brand in India as laboratory tests showed excess level of lead in their products.

According to Section 28 (1) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006: "If a food business operator considers or has reasons to believe that a food which he has processed, manufactured or distributed is not in compliance with this Act, or the rules or regulations, made there under, he shall immediately initiate procedures to withdraw the food in question from the market and consumers indicating reasons for its withdrawal and inform the competent authorities thereof."

'If processes food is not in compliance with the Food Safety Act, it should be immediately withdrawn'

New Delhi, Aug 12 (KNN) As per information provided by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Section 28 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 provides for the Food Recall Procedure.

As per the international practices, a food recall is an action taken to remove the food which is unsafe from the entire food supply chain from the manufacturer to the consumer. However, the food recall procedures may vary from country to country, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Lack of food recall policy is not accountable for non-conformity on food safety standards. As a matter of fact, the first responsibility for recall of food has been cast upon the Food Business Operator.

Section 28 (1) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 stipulates that “If a food business operator considers or has reasons to believe that a food which he has processed, manufactured or distributed is not in compliance with this Act, or the rules or regulations, made thereunder, he shall immediately initiate procedures to withdraw the food in question from the market and consumers indicating reasons for its withdrawal and inform the competent authorities thereof.”

As envisaged under Section 28 (4) of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 the Food Authority has notified the Draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Recall Procedure) Regulations, 2015 in the Gazette of India on 22/04/2015 and made the same available to the public on 29/05/2015 for inviting comments/ suggestions from the stakeholders before final notification she said.

FSSAI Seizes 200 Quintals of Maggi from Lucknow Warehouse

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has seized 200 quintals of instant Maggi

noodles from a warehouse on the outskirts of Lucknow, a senior Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Authority said.

The central drug officer seized 200 quintals from a company owned gowdown in Banthara area, Additional Food Commissioner (Administration) Ram Araj Maurya said. He, however, said that further details could be revealed only by central authorities.

Shares of Nestle India plunged last week after the FSSAI said it has not given any clean chit to the company's banned Maggi noodles, while rubbishing all-clear reports from two of its empanelled labs citing lapses in tests.

According to a senior UP FDA official, in Lucknow, one more sample of instant Maggi noodles had failed laboratory test last week.

Plea to check adulteration of milk

Indian Consumer Rights Foundation here has sought the intervention of food safety officers to check any adulteration of milk.

President of the foundation A. Sankar here on Tuesday urged the officials to collect samples and check adulteration, if any.

Some vendors alleged that harmful additives were mixed into the milk of private dairy companies to keep it fresh even for two days with clear indication of shelf life. Hence, authorities should keep a constant vigil.

District Designated Officer of Food Safety and Standards Act M. Jegadis Chandrabose said the authorities had no role on shelf life of packaged milk, for which the producers of brands had their own discretion. But, samples of milk could be collected and forwarded to food analysing laboratory in Palayamkottai to check any adulteration.

Forty-eights samples had been lifted over the last three months in various parts of the district, he toldThe Hindu .

Except one or two samples, which showed ingredients in milk were unfit for consumption, results of analyses on other samples from the lab confirmed to standards.Fine was imposed on two dairy companies.

Aug 11, 2015

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.

Aug 10, 2015

Did Nestle India have the option to stop total Maggi recall?

Business Standard pieces together the events - all quite dramatic - that might have led to the country's first mega regulatory clampdown

Could a public statement by Nestle regretting "misleading label" related to monosodium glutamate (MSG) on Maggi noodle packets have prevented a pan-Indian recall of the product? Sources at the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) suggest the Swiss food major was given the option of expressing regret in a public statement, for "wrongly" mentioning on the packets that the instant noodle had no added MSG. The issue on excessive lead, another defect found in Maggi samples, could have been tackled with recall of certain batches and corrective measures, they indicated.

Even as Nestle admitted to the regulator that the line on MSG could have been avoided on the noodle packets, it refused to regret the mistake in a public statement. it is learnt. That, perhaps, was the turning point in the Maggi saga.

To a question on whether it was asked by the regulator to issue a public statement on MSG labelling, a Nestle India spokesperson said: "As the matter is sub juice, we would refrain from giving a response at this stage and request your understanding."

Two months after FSSAI ordered a recall of Maggi noodles from store shelves across India, Business Standard pieces together the events - all quite dramatic - that might have led to the country's first mega regulatory clampdown.

In fact, what happened between June 4 and 5 this year in New Delhi - more than a year after MSG and excessive lead were detected in Maggi samples at Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district in March 2014 - is intriguing.

On June 4, FSSAI Chief Executive Yudhvir Singh Malik, a 1983-batch Haryana-cadre IAS officer, had a busy day meeting food commissioners from across India, to discuss many things, including a crackdown on companies. The same afternoon, at the capital's FDA Bhavan (FSSAI headquarters), Malik had an important visitor - Nestle's global CEO Paul Bulcke, who had flown from Switzerland to stop the Maggi mess from growing bigger in a market that held promise.

At Rs 2,500 crore, Nestle India's revenue from Maggi noodles stands at 25 per cent of total. Bulcke was accompanied by Etienne Benet, then managing director of Nestle India.

Bulcke's visit was a secret closely kept until the company sent out invites to the media at midnight, saying the global CEO would make an announcement at noon the next day. From the time Nestle top boss' meeting with Malik ended in the evening of June 4, to the midnight, when press invites were sent out, the company is believed to have weighed the options available to it. Having declined the offer to publicly state its position on MSG labelling, it chose to voluntarily recall the product, knowing that FSSAI was in no mood to relent.

Why then did FSSAI order a pan-Indian recall of Maggi noodles on June 5, when Bulcke was already withdrawing it from the market, at a widely attended press conference? Sources indicate the food regulator, with full backing from the government, had decided to send out a signal to industry, especially multinational companies, that rules could not be played around with.

But by the morning of June 5, things had changed. So, even as Nestle was preparing its answers to the many questions that might be asked at Bulcke's presser, FSSAI, now aware of Nestle's mind, was ready to advance its order to stop manufacturing Maggi noodles in India, and recall the product from the market.

The FSSAI order followed high-level meetings in the government. But when asked, Malik said: "I have not received any instructions from the government on the issue. The regulator has been allowed to work independently."

Now, with industry representatives suggesting the action against Maggi had been a case of overreach by the regulator, the government is playing cautious to ensure investor sentiment is not hurt. Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal recently said the Maggi crisis had resulted in an environment of fear for industry. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told his Cabinet colleagues to "maintain decorum" in the Maggi case, consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said last week.

A combination of things might have contributed to a change in thinking within the government. For one, some international regulators, including those in the UK and Singapore, gave a clean chit to Maggi noodles exported from India. That might have put a question mark on the credibility of FSSAI and its accredited labs that tested Maggi samples and showed contamination.

An FSSAI official said the UK regulator had been approached repeatedly to share its findings, but it did not reply. FSSAI sought the details of the report from Nestle as well, but a company spokesperson told this newspaper, "food regulators of the UK and Singapore had conducted their own tests on Maggi noodles from India, in view of the concerns being raised. These are independent authorities and Nestle is not privy to the testing details".

Also, Goa Food and Drug Administration, whose Maggi samples were considered "ineligible" because of wrong readings in its report, had sent the same samples for further analysis to Mysuru's premiere referral lab, Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI). In its report, made public last week, CFTRI said Maggi noodles complied with FSSAI rules and standards.

In such a scenario, the regulator, now pushed to a corner, is trying to explain that the action by FSSAI was not a knee-jerk one, and that there is no reason to call it a case of over-reach. "Six states had already banned Maggi noodles before the FSSAI order... It is not based on an isolated sample," Malik reiterated last week. Pointing out that a provision for enforcement will always lead to annoyance of some and happiness of others, Malik said he was more concerned about the health of children consuming the noodles than anything else.

And, in a sign of things to come, Nestle India has got a managing director, Suresh Narayanan, who was earlier with the Philippines operations, to replace Etienne Benet. Soon after, the government appointed Ashish Bahuguna, former agriculture secretary, as the FSSAI chairman, a post that had been vacant for several months.

It's a different matter, though, that the timing of the FSSAI order was perhaps prompted by the Nestle decision on voluntary recall. FSSAI officials had told reporters on the evening of June 4 that any action would be taken after receiving more sample test results from states, which were awaited. But by the morning of June 5, things had changed. So, even as Nestle was preparing its answers to the many questions that might be asked at Bulcke's presser, FSSAI, now aware of Nestle's mind, was ready to advance its order to stop manufacturing Maggi noodles in India, and recall the product from the market.

HOW THE CONTROVERSY COOKED UP2014

Mar 10: UP FDA officer collects Maggi noodles sample from a retail shop in Barabanki, UP

Mar 26: Govt-owned lab in Gorakhpur finds monosodium glutamate in Maggi. UP FDA serves notice on Nestle

2015

Apr 30: UP FDA sends "order of recall" for the sample batch

May 30: UP FDA files case against Nestle India

Jun 1-4: States like Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, UP and J&K ban the noodles

Jun 5: Nestle withdraws the noodles from markets

Jun 9: Singapore declares Maggi noodles to be safe for consumption

Jun 11: Nestle moves Bombay HC. Initiates incineration of 30,000 tonnes of the noodles

Jun 18: UP, eight other states fail to find excess lead in Maggi

Jun 30: Bombay HC allows Nestle India to export the noodles

Jul 8: Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal blames FSSAI for inducing fear in the industry

Jul 25: Suresh Narayanan appointed new Nestle India managing director

Aug 8: Health Minister J P Nadda accuses Nestle of not being forthcoming on questions raised by FSSAI

Aug 9, 2015

Exclusive- Heinz Glucon-D under FSSAI radar

New Delhi: Heinz Glucon- D may be the next on the radar of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Continuing its hawkish stance, FSSAI is looking at all non-standardized products in the market including glucose syrups. Emailed queries sent to Heinz did not elicit any reply.

Sources told Bloomberg TV India that FSSAI is now looking to curb sales of Heinz Glucon-D as it flouts the rule. FSSAI claims Heinz Glucon-D had taken product approval under the patent rights for glucose syrup as per the Food safety and Standard Regulation 2011. However, all three flavors of Heinz Glucon- D do not comply with the food approval norms set by FSSAI.

While FSSAI’s Safety and Standards Regulation 2011 states that glucose syrup should contain 99.06 per cent glucose in its ingredients and the rest can be constituted with sucrose and other carbohydrates, the glucose content in Heinz Glucon-D orange flavor was just 40 per cent, Nimbu Pani 53 per cent and Aam Panna 50 per cent.

Heinz Glucon-D label does not specify the quantity of sucrose whereas it contains nearly 50 per cent of the sweetener.

Considering the violation of the norms as crucial and non-standardized, FSSAI is considering banning the Glucon-D product of Heinz very soon, sources said.

Recently, FSSAI sent a warning to Heinz disapproving its baked beans and Complan (pista and badam flavours) for non- compliance of the food safety and standards.

Heinz’s competitor Dabur India has passed muster for its Glucon-D product as it complied with the standards of the patent product they sought for approval.

Starting with Nestle’s Maggi, FSSAI has cracked the whip on a wide range packaged food products which have violated food standards.

The list of products that have been pulled out of the stalls following FSSAI’s clamp down is getting longer every day. This has sent out an alarming message to the food processing industry that have to now be doubly sure about the product contents and the health risks before launching any product.

Gujarat sets up Food Safety Appellate Tribunal

The move is expected to fast-track the process of litigation in cases like misbranding of food articles among others

The Food Safety Appellate Tribunal became functional in Gujarat recently, which is now going to look at cases related to food safety matters. In the wake of the recent controversy surrounding multinational noodles brands in the country, the move is expected to fast-track the process of litigation in cases like misbranding of food articles among others.

Confirming the development, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) of Gujarat said that the tribunal became operational a few days back at Gandhinagar. "We are one of the few states that would have this tribunal in place. A retired sessions judge has been put in charge of the tribunal that would function out of the Jivraj Mehta Bhavan in Gandhinagar," he said.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been in the process of constituting Appellate Tribunals in a number of states for the last couple of years. However, the responsibility of setting up the tribunals rested with the state governments, while FSSAI would provide the required assistance to complete the process.

According to officials in the know, appellate tribunals have already been set up in Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chattisgarh, apart from the union territories of Andaman & Nicoban and Chandigarh.

Gujarat has been pro-active when it came to taking steps in relation to the lead content issue in Maggi noodles. It had banned the noodles brand in June, and extended it twice for one month each.

With another deadline, hotels go lax on hygiene

COIMBATORE: The recent nationwide controversy over "excess" levels of MSG (monosodium glutamate) in Maggi instant noodles has not managed to stop the food safety regulator from again extending the deadline for food operators to obtain a license to run their business.

The biggest flipside of these continuous deadline extensions is the fact that food safety officers now do not have the right to ask restaurants to improve their kitchens. Thus people are always at the risk of consuming unhygienic food.

A food safety officer based in the headquarters in Coimbatore says they now do not have enough legal standing to take action against unhygienic practices in eateries. "When any of them apply for a license or registration, we thoroughly inspect their kitchen, vessels and raw material cleaning facilities, garbage disposal methods, fumigation practices, presence of insects and pests, the water source and filtration facilities available," he said.

"We also tell them how to improve hygiene. Only if all the above factors are compliant with our rules and regulations, and their food is found to be hygienic, do we enrol them," said an R S Puram-based food safety officer. "During the extension period we can't randomly check restaurants and pull them up for not applying or renewing their licenses or registrations," he added. "Thus we can't prevent the issue before it happens."

Statistics with the food safety department in Coimbatore shows that hardly one-fourth of the city's restaurants and eateries are compliant with the norms and rules mentioned in the Food Safety and Standards Act of India, 2006. Hardly 5,400 of the estimated 20,000 restaurant, bakeries and eateries in the city have enrolled with the food safety department. "Around 3,252 of them have license and 2,132 have registered themselves after paying a fee," said designated food safety officer, Dr R Kathiravan.

"We do not even have an exact count of the food operators in the city, because now anyone can bring a pushcart or kiosk on the road and sell food. We can't pull him up, unless his prepared food sample has tested unsafe or we have written complaint against him," he said.

In fact even during the three days between the previous deadline's expiry and new deadline announcement, not a single restaurant or eatery owners approached the food safety department for a license, said Kathiravan.

Food safety officers blame the laidback attitude of food operators on the number of deadline extensions given to traders since the Food Safety and Standards Act of India came into force in 2006. "The deadline has already been extended five times, so restaurateurs do not take this seriously," he said. "This is the sixth time the deadline has been extended," he said. Section 31 (1) of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 provides that no person shall commence or carry on any food business except under a license.

While bigger restaurants, bakeries and food chains apply for licenses, small road side eateries, coffee and tea shops apply for registrations.

Maggi samples fail test in Lucknow laboratory: Official

The lead content in these samples, picked from neighbouring Barabanki, were found to be 2.7 parts per million more than the permissible limit

Five more samples of instant snack Maggi have failed tests at a laboratory here as they contained lead content beyond the permissible limit, an official said on Saturday.

The lead content in these samples, picked from neighbouring Barabanki, were found to be 2.7 parts per million more than the permissible limit at the Food Safety and Drug Administration laboratory, an official said.

Additional Commissioner (Food) R S Maurya said the test reports would now be sent to the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

After initial reports of much higher lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG) content in Maggi, over 500 samples were gathered from across the state. The five samples that have been found "unfit" are from this collection.

A ban was imposed on Maggi in June, a move which was challenged by its makers Nestle.

Nestle had ordered a nationwide recall of the popular snack after food inspectors in Uttar Pradesh and later in some other states found that the MSG and lead content was very high.

Nestle has maintained that Maggi is safe for consumption and that it complies with the food standards in India. The matter is sub judice at the Bombay High Court.

DINAMALAR NEWS

உணவுப்பாதுகாப்பு தர நிர்ணயச் சட்டம் கடைகள் உரிமம் பெற கால அவகாசம் நீடிப்பு வணிகர் சங்கத்தலைவர் தகவல்

தர் ம புரி, ஆக.9:

உண வுப் பாது காப்பு தர நிர் ண யச் சட்டத் தின் கீழ் கடை கள் லைசென்ஸ் பெற பிப் ர வரி 4ம் தேதி வரை கால அவ கா சம் நீடிக் கப் பட்டுள் ளது என தர் ம புரி அனைத்து வணி கர் சங் கத் த லை வர் வைத் தி லிங் கம் தெரி வித் துள் ளார்.

தர் ம பு ரி யில், அனைத்து வணி கர் சங்க ஆலோ சனை கூட்டம், தலை வர் வைத் தி லிங் கம் தலை மை யில் நடந் தது. இதில், நிர் வா கி கள் பார்த் தீ பன், ரவிச் சந் தி ரன், கிரி த ரன், ஸ்ரீதர் மற் றும் வணி கர் கள் கலந்து கொண் ட னர். கூட்டத் தில் தலை வர் வைத் தி லிங் கம் பேசி ய தா வது:

இந் தி யா வில் 1954ம் ஆண்டு கலப் பட தடை சட்டம் இருந் தது. இந்த சட்டத் தின் கீழ் இருந்த 8க்கும் மேற் பட்ட விதி களை ஒருங் கி ணைத்து உண வுப் பாது காப்பு மற் றும் தர நிர் ண யச் சட்டம் - 2006 என்ற சட்டத்தை 2011ம் ஆண்டு மத் திய அரசு அமல் ப டுத் தி யது. இந்த சட்டத் துக் குள் 32 வித மான விதி கள் உள் ளன. தமி ழ கத் தில் மட்டும் உணவு பாது காப்பு மற் றும் தர அதி கா ரி கள் 542 பேர் பணி யாற்றி வரு கின் ற னர். மற்ற மாநி லத்தை விட தமி ழ கத் தில் தான் அதி கா ரி கள் அதி கம் நிய மிக் கப் பட்டுள் ள னர்.

உணவு தொழில் களில் ஈடு ப டும் தயா ரிப் பா ளர், விற் ப னை யா ளர், சில் லரை மற் றும் மொத்த மளிகை வணி கர், பேக் கரி, ஸ்வீட், தேனீர், டிபன் கடை கள், ஓட்டல் கள் உள் ளிட்டோர் உரி மம் பெற்று வரு கின் ற னர். தள் ளு வண் டி யில் கடை வைத் தி ருந் தா லும் ரூ.100 செலுத்தி உரி மம் பெற வேண் டும். ரூ.12 லட் சத் திற்கு மேல் வர்த் த கம் செய் யும் கடைக் கா ரர் ரூ.2 ஆயி ரம் செலுத்தி லைசென்ஸ் பெற வேண் டும் என கூறி யுள் ள னர்.

இந்த உரி மத்தை பெற கடு மை யான நிபந் த னை கள் விதிக் கப் பட்டுள் ளன. அந்த சட்டம் கூறும் விதி மு றை களை கடைப் பி டிக் கா விட்டால் ஒரு லட் சம் ரூபாய் முதல் ரூ.10 லட் சம் வரை அப ரா தம் மற் றும் 6 மாதம் முதல் ஆயுள் தண் டனை வரை விதிக் க வும், இடம் உள் ளது. இந்த சட்டத் தின் படி, அறி வி யல் அடிப் ப டை யில் உணவை தயா ரிக்க வேண் டும்.

இயற்கை வேளாண் பொருட் களுக் கும் தர நிர் ண யம் செய் துள் ள னர். உண வுப் பொருள் பொட்ட லங் கள் இரண் டாம் தரத் தில் இருந் தா லும், அச் ச டிப் ப தில் தவ று கள் இருந் தா லும் வணி கர் கள் கடு மை யான தண் ட னைக்கு ஆளாக் கப் ப டும் நிலை உள் ளது. பொருள் தயா ரிக் கும் இடத் தில் குறை பாடு இருந் தால், விற் பனை செய் யும் வியா பாரி எப் படி தண் டனை பெற முடி யும்?.

இது தொடர் பாக மத் திய அர சி டம் எடுத் துக் கூறி இந்த சட்டத் தில் திருத் தம் செய்ய வேண் டும் என அமைச் சர், பிர த மரை நேரில் சந் தித்து வலி யு றுத் தி யுள் ளோம். வரும் 2016ம் ஆண்டு பிப் ர வரி 4ம் தேதி வரை கடை களுக்கு லைசென்ஸ் பெற கால அவ கா சம் நீட்டிப்பு செய் யப் பட்டுள் ளது. இந்த சட்டத் தால் அதி கா ரி களுக்கு தான் வரு மா னம். அர சுக்கோ, வணி கர் களுக் காக எவ் வித பல னும் இல்லை. மேலும், அதி கா ரி கள் மிரட்டி பணம் வசூல் செய் தால் கலெக் ட ரி டம் புகார் தெரி விக் க லாம் என் றார்.