Maggi noodles safe for consumption, Nestle India rejects allegation of ash

The district administration of Shahjahanpur, UP, has slapped a fine on Nestle India and its distributors after its popular noodles brand Maggi allegedly failed to pass the lab test, even as the FMCG major maintained that "it's a case of application of incorrect standards".

New Delhi: Nestle India on Wednesday said that its instant noodles brand Maggi is 100 percent safe for consumption after the Uttar Pradesh district administration imposed a fine of Rs 62 lakh for alleged ‘ash content’ in the instant snack.

The district administration of Shahjahanpur, UP, has slapped a fine on Nestle India and its distributors after its popular noodles brand Maggi allegedly failed to pass the lab test. The district administration has also imposed a fine of Rs 45 lakh on Nestle, Rs 15 lakh on its three distributors and Rs 11 lakh on its two sellers.

According to the district authorities, it had collected the samples last year in November and sent them for lab test, which had found ash content above the permissible limits of human consumption.

“Maggi noodles are 100% safe for consumption. We strongly reiterate that at no stage of the manufacturing process, ash is added to Maggi noodles,” a spokesperson representing Nestle India said in an email statement on Wednesday.

"It is a case of applying standards basis an old advisory issued in 2015. Now, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has laid standards for instant noodles, pasta and seasoning. Maggi noodles are fully compliant with this. While we have not yet received the order passed by the adjudication officer, we understand from the information available that the relevant samples are of the year 2015 and the issue pertains to “ash content," the statement said.

"In the spirit of complete transparency and basis information available, we are sharing with this statement a summary comparison of the analysis reports (which appeared to have been used by the adjudication officer). As you will notice, Maggi noodles is fully compliant with the standards set by FSSAI. Maggi noodles have always been safe for consumption and will continue to be," it added.

In 2015, Nestle India and other companies had represented to the relevant authorities, via industry associations, to set standards specific to instant noodles to avoid confusion amongst enforcement officers and consumers.

Maggi was banned by FSSAI in June 2015 for allegedly containing lead beyond permissible limits, forcing Nestle India to withdraw the product from the market. Even in 2015, the Maggi trouble for Nestle had begun in UP.

Following legal battles, the popular noodles brand was back in the market in November 2015.