Ban on Maggi if found unsafe: Govt

The Centre on Thursday said it will take a final decision on whether to impose a nationwide ban on Maggi Noodles only if the samples tested across the country were found unsafe for consumption.

Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ramvilas Paswan’s assertion comes even as four more states — Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand — banned Maggi. State Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader said that seven different brands of noodles would be sent for testing on Friday.

The State government has already sought a report on Maggi from two recognised private labs in Bengaluru, the reports of which are expected to be out by Friday.

In Delhi, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) chairman Yudhvir Singh Malik said the tests done by Delhi and Kerala were found to be “absolutely authentic” and the states have taken steps accordingly. “As a national regulator we have to look at it, I may not have to wait for the reports from all the 29 states but I must have a representative kind (of tests reports),” Malik said when asked if the FSSAI was contemplating action against Maggi.   
The Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand governments banned the sale of Maggi for three months, while in Gujarat the ban will be effective for one month.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the state government banned the sale for one month till the receipt of reports over the fitness of the instant noodles for consumption.

Besides Maggi, Tamil Nadu has also ordered recall of Wai Wai Xpress, Reliance Select Instant, Smith and Jones Chicken Masala noodle brands after high lead content was found in the samples tested by food inspectors.

Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are awaiting test results before taking any action.

“Of the 27 samples collected, all were found to have monosodium glutamate and 14 had lead content beyond permissible limits,” Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration commissioner H G Koshia said.

Adding to Nestle’s woes, a cab driver from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu claimed he found larvae in a milk powder box manufactured by the company.

Officials at the food analysis laboratory in Coimbatore confirmed the presence of worms in the milk powder and certified it as unsafe for consumption.

“We have also collected some more samples for testing,” said a senior official.

In Guwahati, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the government would take a decision on imposing a ban on Maggi and other similar products immediately after receiving reports from the state public health laboratory.

The Delhi government on Thursday picked up nine samples of various brands of noodles for testing. These were picked up from various areas of Delhi.

“The reports are awaited in the next two-four days,” said a source in the health department.