Karnataka, Gujarat lift ban on Maggi

The government of Gujarat and Karnataka on Monday lifted the ban on Nestle India's Maggi noodles, becoming the first two states to do so.

Karnataka's move would allow Nestle India to manufacture the product at its plant in the state. "We never imposed a ban on Maggi. We were simply following the directions of the central government, since it concerned food safety. Following the Bombay High Court's order and findings of the retest, if Nestle wishes to start manufacturing in the state, they will have to send us a request first," Karnataka's minister for health and family U T Khader said, when contacted. The company's other Maggi manufacturing plants are in Goa, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
 
Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration Commissioner HG Koshia said, "We had been extending the ban for 30 days for the last three months even as tests were being conducted. However, we decided not to extend the ban further after we received the Bombay High Court order recently. The ban on Maggi noodles in Gujarat stands revoked."

These developments also come at a time when the country's apex food regulator is unlikely to challenge court-directed retests that Maggi instant noodles cleared last week. Sources said the Bombay High Court verdict of August 13 had left no scope for the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to challenge it in the Supreme Court. Calls and text messages to FSSAI Chairman Ashish Bahuguna elicited no response. The court had ordered the retests at FSSAI-approved and NABL-accredited laboratories at Mohali, Jaipur and Hyderabad. If lead in Maggi was found to be below the permissible limit then Nestle India could resume production of Maggi noodles, the court had ruled. Maharashtra's Food and Drug Minister Girish Bapat on Friday said he would challenge the test results in court.

Nestle said last week it was examining where it would resume Maggi production. It did not indicate its plans following the revocation of bans in Gujarat and Karnataka nor did it comment on Bapat's statement. But it added it was "working hard" to bring Maggi back.

The company issued front-page advertisements in leading dailies on Monday highlighting Maggi was safe.

Nestle was expected to leverage the test results with a television and digital advertising campaign, media industry sources said. Relaunch promotion, set into motion with a teaser campaign Miss-you Maggi right after the August 13 court verdict, would cost the company Rs 100-150 crore, sources said.