Nestle pulls Maggi off the shelves : Conflicting versions on safety aspects

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has ordered recall of nine variants of the instant noodles from the market and asked the company to stop their production, import and sale with immediate effect..

FSSAI  also said that Nestle launched Maggi Oats Masala Noodles without any product approval and undertaking risk, safety assessment.

However,  Nestle's global CEO Paul Bulcke on Friday claimed that the snack is safe for consumption and it will be back again.

His  assertion came after Nestle  decided to withdraw the product following country-wide scrutiny for high lead content and mono-sodium glutamate or MSG, a taste enhancer.

"Maggi noodles in India are safe for consumption. We have the same quality standards everywhere in the world," Bulcke said while addressing the media.

Explaining the company's decision to withdraw Maggi that contributes to one-fifth of the company's revenues, he said growing concerns about the product has led to a confusion and the "trust of the consumers has been shaken."

"We have been carrying tests on Maggi noodles on multiple batches.  All results that came out indicate that Maggi noodles are safe for consumption," he said.

"There may be some MSG occurring in other ingredients. Will take off 'No MSG' from the label so that there's no confusion about it."

"Trust of our consumers is of paramount importance to us," he said adding Maggi was being taken  off the shelves till the situation is clarified."

"We are trying to restore the confidence of our consumers in Maggi, our first priority is to address the consumers...We are taking this very seriously."

"I am confident Maggi Noodles will be back very soon," he said.

The Nestle chief said,  the company was "trying to learn" why there is a difference in test results carried out in other laboratories and ours."

"There is confusion about how you test...if we put them together, we can see why there is difference in test results," he said.

Nestle's decision on Thursday to pull Maggi off the shelves followed  country-wide scrutiny for high lead content and mono-sodium glutamate or MSG, a taste enhancer.

In a setback for the company on Thursday,  four more states- Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu joined Delhi in placing a temporary ban on Maggi Noodles.

Uttarakhand  banned the popular brand "till further notice".

Gujarat as well as Jammu and Kashmir banned Maggi Noodles for a month.

The Tamil Nadu government banned Maggi for three months after its tests found lead twice above the permissible limit, reports said.

On Friday, two other states- Madhya Pradesh and Bihar also put ban on the sale of Maggi.

The Indian army has also alerted its jawans to avoid that particular brand of packed noodles.

According to market reports, Nestle shares dropped by 15 per cent since May 28  because of the controversy over Maggi.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said her government did not find any unwanted materials in the samples of popular noodles brand Maggi on which studies done so far.

"We have not found any unwanted materials in Maggi samples in the studies done so far. Tests will continue," Banerjee told media as tweeted by the TMC.