Relief for Nestle: Karnataka, Gujarat lift ban on Maggi noodles

New Delhi: Paving the way for Maggi noodles' return, Karnataka and Gujarat have lifted ban on manufacturing and sale of Nestle India's popular instant food brand.

The announcements by the two states follow clean chit given by three government-approved laboratories to Maggi noodles, which was banned by central food regulator FSSAI and various state-level watchdogs in June on quality issues.

Last week, Nestle India had said that all samples of Maggi cleared tests conducted by three laboratories, as mandated by the Bombay High Court. The company is now planning to relaunch the product soon.

The Congress-led Karnataka government today decided to allow manufacture and sale of Maggi noodles in the state as it decided to withhold the Centre's directive banning it, saying it lacked clarity.

The state government would withhold the implementation of central order on not allowing the production and sale of Maggi because of lack of clarity on the permissible limits of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and lead, Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader told reporters in Bengaluru.

Similarly, the BJP-ruled Gujarat government also lifted the ban on sale of Maggi.

The Gujarat Food and Drug Control Authority (FDCA) today said it lifted the ban on sale of Nestle India's 'Maggi' noodles after the Bombay High Court lifted the nationwide ban on it in August.

According to sources, central food regulator FSSAI will go through test reports by three labs before taking any decision on lifting the ban it imposed in June this year.

FSSAI had banned Maggi noodles saying it was "unsafe and hazardous" for consumption after finding lead levels beyond permissible limits. The company had withdrawn the instant noodles from the market.

Nestle India had challenged the ban by FSSAI in the Bombay High Court. In August, the court lifted the nation-wide ban imposed by the Indian food regulators on Maggi noodles but ordered a fresh test of samples of the product in three independent labs across India.

The court had set aside the June 5 order of the Central government's Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). It also quashed the order of Maharashtra's Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) banning production and sale of Maggi noodles in India and the state.