 "Uttarakhand bans Maggi, also production from its Pantnagar plant")
In a severe setback to Nestle India, the Uttarakhand food safety department on Thursday imposed a blanket ban on the production of Maggie noodles from its Pantnagar plant and also on the marketing as well as the sale in the hill state after the samples of the popular food product failed laboratory tests.
A notification to this effect was issued by the Food Safety Department Commissioner Om Prakash, which stated that the ban will remain in force for 90 days in the state. Since high contents of poisonous substances were found in the samples of Maggie noodles, a 90-day ban will remain in force on the sale, production and marketing of the Maggie noodles, said Prakash.
Despite the issuance of the notification, it was not yet clear whether Nestle has stopped the production of Maggi noodles completely from its Pantnagar plant in Udham Singh Nagar district. However, District Magistrate Pankaj Pandey told Business Standard that he would take necessary action against Nestle only in the light of the notification.
Industry sources said the company has considerably lowered the production of Maggi noodles from Pantnagar plant for the past 2-3 days. “The production of Maggi has come down to 10-20 percent level,” said an industrialist.
Earlier, state health minister Surendra Singh Negi had issued instructions to impose ban on Maggi noodles after tests on various samples found higher than permissible level of monosodium glutamate and lead. “We have banned Maggi noodles in our state keeping in view larger interest of the health of the people,” said Negi.
The raging controversy over the alleged high chemicals in Nestle’s Maggi noodles had already reached its Pantnagar facility, which came under scanner of the state Food Safety Department. Top department officials in Udham Singh Nagar on Saturday had collected eight samples from Nestle’s Pantnagar factory and were sent to various laboratories for tests.
Nestle started production of Maggi noodles from its key Pantnagar factory in 2006 to take benefit of various sops available in the hill state.
A notification to this effect was issued by the Food Safety Department Commissioner Om Prakash, which stated that the ban will remain in force for 90 days in the state. Since high contents of poisonous substances were found in the samples of Maggie noodles, a 90-day ban will remain in force on the sale, production and marketing of the Maggie noodles, said Prakash.
Despite the issuance of the notification, it was not yet clear whether Nestle has stopped the production of Maggi noodles completely from its Pantnagar plant in Udham Singh Nagar district. However, District Magistrate Pankaj Pandey told Business Standard that he would take necessary action against Nestle only in the light of the notification.
Industry sources said the company has considerably lowered the production of Maggi noodles from Pantnagar plant for the past 2-3 days. “The production of Maggi has come down to 10-20 percent level,” said an industrialist.
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Earlier, state health minister Surendra Singh Negi had issued instructions to impose ban on Maggi noodles after tests on various samples found higher than permissible level of monosodium glutamate and lead. “We have banned Maggi noodles in our state keeping in view larger interest of the health of the people,” said Negi.
The raging controversy over the alleged high chemicals in Nestle’s Maggi noodles had already reached its Pantnagar facility, which came under scanner of the state Food Safety Department. Top department officials in Udham Singh Nagar on Saturday had collected eight samples from Nestle’s Pantnagar factory and were sent to various laboratories for tests.
Nestle started production of Maggi noodles from its key Pantnagar factory in 2006 to take benefit of various sops available in the hill state.