<p>Even as top retail chains and supermarkets have taken Maggi off their racks after a government order imposing a ban on the product, petty shops continue to sell the noodles in the City. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Grocery stores in areas such as Rajajinagar, Srinagar and Jayanagar continued the sale of the banned product even on Saturday despite the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ordering a temporary halt on the manufacture of the product. Tests on Maggi samples in several states have established the presence of lead above the permissible levels.<br />A retailer in Rajajinagar who had the product on sale said, “I have heard about the ban. We are yet to take a decision on sending the product back.” <br /><br />Santosh, store manager at Market Place, MG Road, said that the demand for the product had dwindled. “We have cleared the stock and till now no one has asked for it. The store is not suffering any loss as we did not carry a large stock of Maggi.” Sridhar, a retailer in Seshadripuram, said that he used to sell at least 15 packets everyday. The demand had come down to five packets in the past week and not a single customer asked for it on Saturday, he added. In Srinagar, five out of six shops said that they had the product. One shopkeeper, however, said that he would not sell the product even though he had it, as a ban had been ordered.<br /><br />The retailers are also a concerned lot as to what they could do with the existing stock. Even as they have stopped placing orders for it, they are unsure if they could return the stock to the company and get back the money paid. <br /><br />“A few consumers who had purchased the product recently also asked us to take it back. We have assured them that we would do so if the company agrees to take it back from us,” a retailer said.</p>
<p>Even as top retail chains and supermarkets have taken Maggi off their racks after a government order imposing a ban on the product, petty shops continue to sell the noodles in the City. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Grocery stores in areas such as Rajajinagar, Srinagar and Jayanagar continued the sale of the banned product even on Saturday despite the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ordering a temporary halt on the manufacture of the product. Tests on Maggi samples in several states have established the presence of lead above the permissible levels.<br />A retailer in Rajajinagar who had the product on sale said, “I have heard about the ban. We are yet to take a decision on sending the product back.” <br /><br />Santosh, store manager at Market Place, MG Road, said that the demand for the product had dwindled. “We have cleared the stock and till now no one has asked for it. The store is not suffering any loss as we did not carry a large stock of Maggi.” Sridhar, a retailer in Seshadripuram, said that he used to sell at least 15 packets everyday. The demand had come down to five packets in the past week and not a single customer asked for it on Saturday, he added. In Srinagar, five out of six shops said that they had the product. One shopkeeper, however, said that he would not sell the product even though he had it, as a ban had been ordered.<br /><br />The retailers are also a concerned lot as to what they could do with the existing stock. Even as they have stopped placing orders for it, they are unsure if they could return the stock to the company and get back the money paid. <br /><br />“A few consumers who had purchased the product recently also asked us to take it back. We have assured them that we would do so if the company agrees to take it back from us,” a retailer said.</p>
