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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) expects to get the Maggi noodles test reports from at least 20 states by the end of this week. If any violation is detected in these samples, the regulator under the Union health ministry would take action by the middle of next week, FSSAI Chief Executive Yudhvir Singh Malik told Business Standard.
While all states and Union Territories have been directed to conduct lab tests on the samples of the noodle packs, manufactured by Nestle, those with weak infrastructure might fail to comply within the short time frame, Malik said. "But even if 20 states do the sampling, the findings would be considered pan-India.''
Some state agencies, including of Kerala, Delhi, Haryana and West Bengal, have already acted. While Kerala has declared a ban, Delhi government's preliminary test reports have shown the product is unsafe for consumption. Others such as Haryana and West Bengal are in the process of sampling and testing.
And if the Maggi controversy was not enough, Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (Food Safety Wing) in Coimbatore has declared Nestle NAN PRO 3, a milk powder for infants, as unsafe after larvae was found in it, according to a report in The New Indian Express. A Nestle India spokesperson said, "We have no official intimation about that, so, we can't comment." On the Delhi government's findings, the spokesperson said, "We just got to know from the media. They [Delhi government] have not contacted us till now. We will engage with them."
FSSAI's Malik said the action, if any, would be determined based on the nature of "offence" and could be related to Sections 48 to 60 in the food safety Act. The penalty could be between Rs 3 lakh and 10 lakh, depending on whether it's a case of sub-standard content, misrepresentation in labelling or presence of additives higher than permitted. A recall is not ruled out either as a corrective measure, according to Malik.
The state authorities would be required to go for the adjudication process and impose penalty in case necessary, following consultation with FSSAI. Also, besides the manufacturer in question, all others involved in the supply chain, including stockists, distributors, retail chains and even media houses carrying advertisements of the product, could be penalised, according to the rule book.
It had all begun in April, with the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (UP FSDA) asking Nestle India to withdraw a batch of Maggi noodles made in February last year after it found high levels of added monosodium glutamate (MSG), a taste enhancer, in the noodles and lead beyond permissible limits.
Nestle India said on Monday it had got samples of Maggi noodles tested from its accredited laboratory and also got an independent analysis done from external labs. These samples represented around 125 million packets, the company said. "All the results of these internal and external tests show lead levels are well within the limits specified by food regulations and Maggi Noodles are safe to eat. The company is sharing these results with the authorities,'' Nestle India said.
FSSAI was established in 2011 under the Food Safety and Standards Act. Though a young organisation, it is often expected to perform on a par with international regulators such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that has 50 years of experience, an official said. But in India, most states are yet to activate their machineries in food regulation, he said. Among the states that active in this area are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Goa.
Even as the Indian food regulator is yet to penalise any big company or order a recall of any significance, compared with the US FDA's stringent action and fines stretching up to millions of dollars, FSSAI bosses are learnt to be stepping up their discussions with their international counterparts and even looking at cooperation with them.
PENALTY UNDER FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS ACT, 2006
- Section 50: Penalty for selling food not of the nature or substance or quality demanded
- Section 51: Penalty for sub-standard food
- Section 52: Penalty for misbranded food
- Section 53: Penalty for misleading advertisement
- Section 54: Penalty for food containing extraneous matter
- Section 55: Penalty for failure to comply with the directions of food safety officer
- Section 57: Penalty for possessing adulterant
- Section 59: Punishment for unsafe food
- Section 60: Punishment for interfering with seized items
(with inputs from Arnab Dutta)
