Maggi noodles manufacturer Nestle India Ltd today got a reprieve from the Bombay High Court which lifted the ban slapped by food regulators on nine variants of the fast food in the country while asking the company to go in for fresh tests.
While observing that principles of natural justice were not followed by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Maharashtra's Food and Drugs Department (FDA) before imposing the ban, a division bench of the high court allowed Nestle to go in for fresh testing to ascertain whether lead content in the popular snack is below permissible limit.
This will be done by sending five samples of each variant of the instant noodles to three independent laboratories in Punjab, Hyderabad and Jaipur which were accredited with National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), the court said.
Though the court has quashed the orders of the Indian food regulators banning the nine variants of the noodles, it will take some more time for Maggi to hit the market.
Reacting to the court order, FSSAI said it was keeping its options open on whether to challenge the Bombay High Court order in the Supreme Court. The regulator said that an appeal before the Supreme Court is "neither ruled in, nor ruled out" as yet.
In a statement, Nestle India welcomed the High Court order and said it will undertake fresh tests.
"Nestle India respects the decision made on August 13 by the Honourable Bombay High Court to revoke the ban order passed by the FSSAI and FDA, Maharashtra, on Maggi noodles and will comply with the order to undertake fresh tests," the company said.
Food and Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the High Court decision had come after hearing both sides. "I welcome the decision that they have taken because I am sure it is what is good for the nation and good for the people.
"I have always maintained that there needs to be totally transparent and clear-cut protocol which the industry should know it has to follow," she said.
Samples for the fresh testing would be taken out of the 750 samples preserved by the company following the ban. A huge stock of Maggi noodles was destroyed by Nestle after the ban was imposed by the food regulators.
If the lead content is found below permissible limits by the three labs, Nestle, the Indian arm of Swiss company, will be allowed to manufacture Maggi noodles, Justices V M Kanade and B P Colabawala said.
The labs have been asked to submit their report within six weeks.
