 "States begin probe on lead, MSG content before Centre order")
But even before a pan-India probe is launched, some states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat have already initiated action on the ground.
Maharashtra Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) has collected samples of Maggi noodles from Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune and sent them for testing at its laboratory. FDA told Business Standard late in the evening that it has ''gathered samples from Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune. The test reports are expected within a week and only after that a due action will be taken". Similarly, the Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) has started testing the samples which were collected over the past two days. HG Koshia, commissioner of FDCA said, "Based on media reports, we have collected around 25 samples of different batches from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar region of the state. We have sent them for testing, and the reports are expected within the 10 to 15 days." In case violations are found, the Gujarat administration will either seize the products from the market or ask the company to recall the products, Koshia said.
As for UP, more samples have been collected for investigation.
Sources at FSSAI pointed out that they were planning to issue an order to all state FDA commissioners for stringent testing of the products.
UP Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner PK Singh told Business Standard that Nestle India had already submitted a compliance report regarding the recall of the "affected" batch from the markets in UP. "We are considering all the legal aspects of the case and our legal team is currently studying the matter," he said, adding there had been cases of prosecuting companies in similar episodes earlier. The batch of noodles which was ''contaminated'' was recalled from the market in UP, officials confirmed.
According to another senior official in Uttar Pradesh FDA, the authority is planning to approach the district-level civil court against Nestle India.
"Our legal team is evaluating two options. We will either approach the chief judicial magistrate or additional district judge against the company for such a serious violation under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006," the official said.
Since Maggi holds more than 60% of India's instant noodles market, the test results in UP have attracted the attention of the state's top administration, it is learnt. Accepting that it had received an 'order to recall' on April 30 from the UP FDA, Nestle India in an email statement said, "The company does not agree with the order and is filing the requisite representations with the authorities. The company is confident that these packs are no longer in the market."
According to an UP FDA official, who did not want to be quoted, testing of Maggi was done as part of its "random testing procedure" last year. And if proved at a court of law, such acts of violation can lead to minimum of three years of imprisonment, and going up to life sentences, for the offenders under the Act. Although Nestle, by default, may have collected unsold stocks from a batch that expired in November 2014, it can land up in trouble if charges of "violations" were proved in court, he said. Section 47-67 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 provides for punitive action against offenders.
In June 2014, UP FDA conducted random sampling test of Maggi noodles in a state-owned lab in Gorakhpur which showed high-level of lead and MSG in Maggi and asked Nestle India - the manufacturer of Maggi - to withdraw all its products belonging to the same batch.
However, the matter came out in the open recently after the UP FDA tested the noodle in its Kolkata laboratory to confirm the previous test results. According to the tests, Maggi noodle contains 17.2 parts per million (ppm) of lead compared to the permissible 2.5 ppm for food products. However, "when Nestle was communicated about the findings of the lab, the company contested the charges that they had violated any food safety norms," the FDA official said. "The results clearly shows that it is 100% unsafe to consume and we will approach the court within 7-10 days," he said.
High lead content is harmful for kidney. Further, the food companies have to declare any MSG content on the packets and caution about its consumption by children below 12 years.
Although Nestle was informed by the state FDA during mid-last year on the findings, the company appealed to the authority to conduct more rounds of tests before asking them to withdraw the products from the market, according to sources.
But Nestle India spokesperson said, "During our own routine tests over the years, it was never found that Maggi contains more than 0.03 ppm of lead". According to the company, there are no stated levels of MSG in India and since it does not add any artificial glutamate in Maggi, it never mentions the chemical on the packets. "We use hydolysed groundnut protein, onion powder and wheat flour to make Maggi Noodles sold in India, which all contain glutamate. We believe that the authorities' tests may have detected glutamate, which occurs naturally in many foods", the company said. Nestle India has also indicated that the company is independently testing the product and will convey the findings to the government.
With inputs from Arnab Dutta, Digbijay Mishra, Sanjay Jog, Sohini Das & Virendra Rawat