Maggi in soup: Centre scanner on Nestle India, UP FDA to file case

The Union ministry of consumer affairs on Friday jumped into the controversy surrounding the reportedly high levels of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead in Nestle's famous noodle brand Maggi. It said it had directed the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to take note, as it concerned the health of a large section of consumers.

“A class action suit can be initiated into the matter if a complaint is made to NCDRC,” consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday.

The Uttar Pradesh Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also filing a case against Nestle India at a district court at Barabanki, from where it had collected the “contaminated” samples, UP FDA additional commissioner (administration) Ram Araj Maurya told Business Standard on Friday. Barabanki FDA designated officer V K Pandey confirmed they have completed preliminary homework to present a case before the court.

The UP FDA continues to collect random Maggi samples for investigation. So far, it has collected about a dozen samples from Lucknow and is checking if these are ‘clean’. “The reports of three such samples have come and they have tested negative. Reports of the remaining samples are awaited,” Maurya said. There are six FDA labs in UP at Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Varanasi, Agra and Jhansi.

Last month, the UP FDA had asked Nestle India to withdraw a batch of Maggi noodles "manufactured in February 2014" after it said it had found high levels of added MSG, a taste enhancer, in the noodles and lead beyond permissible limits.