Consumers of Mango Bite, the yellow-and-green-colour-wrapped-candy, will be in for a nasty surprise when they walk up next-time to their neighbourhood paanwala asking for the brand. They are not likely to get it as the Maharashtra unit of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has asked the manufacturer - Mumbai-based Parle Products - to recall from the marketplace the entire stock, saying that it is "unsafe".
This follows a recent raid by officials of the Konkan Division of FDA at Raigadh and Bhiwandi, where stock of finished goods and ingredients worth Rs 2 crore was seized.
FDA officials say the company was using buffered lactic acid, an ingredient, which is not permitted under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, in Mango Bite, hence the decision to order a recall of the product.
Interestingly, this is not the first time when Parle Products has been asked to recall Mango Bite. In 2009 and 2010, the company, which also ranks among the largest biscuit makers in the country, was asked to take the product off shop shelves because it was using colour that was not permitted under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006.
As far as the current round is concerned, Maharashtra FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagde, when contacted, said that the body would continue carrying out state-wide raids to ascertain whether the company was making Mango Bite using buffered lactic acid. "So far, stocks of the candy have been seized in Nashik and Konkan. All the food safety inspectors across the state have been alerted to carry out similar raids in their respective areas," he said.
The use of lactic acid (chiefly found in milk products) has been banned in foodstuff after a bench found it not good for consumption for its tooth decaying side effects.
A Parle Products spokesperson, when contacted, said that that the company was looking into the matter. "We are awaiting information from the FDA authorities pertaining to the recalling of our stocks. Further course of action will be based on that," the spokesperson said.
According to industry estimates, the candy market in India is estimated to be around Rs 3,500 crore in sze. Of this, about 70 per cent is sugar candy, and the remaining 30 per cent is chocolate candy. The market, according to analysts, is growing at around 7-8 per cent per annum .
Besides Parle, some of the other key candy or confectionary players include Perfetti Van Melle, ITC, Nestle, Ravalgaon, Candico, Cadbury and Lotte.