FSSAI, in its advisory/order of 8th June 2015 has said that a number of Noodles, Pasta, and Macaroni with Tastemaker being manufactured in India are non – standardized products that come under section 22 of the FSS Act, 2006. FSSAI has issued only conditional permissions and approvals for their manufacture as per their records. Hence FSSAI has asked all State Officials (Commissioners of Food Safety of all States/UTs in India) to test such products as per product approval procedure by drawing samples. Action will be taken as per provisions of the FSSAI and the IPC if applicable in case the products are found to be non – conforming to FSS Act, Rules & Regulations.
Products that will come under the scrutiny of the FSSAI are Wai Wai noodles manufactured by CG Foods India Pvt. Ltd. Koka Instant Noodles, Ruchi International. The various ‘Foodles’ manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd., all of ITC’s Sunfeast Yippee noodles, Top Ramen Atta Masala noodles manufactured by Indo Nissin Food Ltd. Yummy chicken and vegetable noodles from AA Nutrition Ltd and along with these Nestlé’s macaroni and penne pasta. The products are to be sent to the authorized laboratories for testing immediately and it is likely that the noodles and the tastemaker will be tested separately. If the tests results do not conform then the orders are to be passed to recall, remove from the market and to destroy the products that do not conform to the food safety requirements.
The FSSAI would like to have the reports of the samples tested as early as 19 June 2015 so that if the products are found to be unsafe for human consumption, even though approved by FSSAI earlier, they can be recalled from the market. FSSAI has already asked Nestle India to “stop further production, processing, import, distribution and sale” of the various ‘Maggi’ noodles it manufactures in India for this reason. Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have also carried out tests on a number of noodles Tamil Nadu has banned at least four brands of noodles while Gujarat has banned a brand of Hakka noodles for failing laboratory tests.
The ‘Maggi Impact’ is likely to affect the entire food processing industry as FSSAI is likely to tighten the norms for all processed foods. There is also likely to be similar testing for all other brands that manufacture noodles and perhaps the ready-to-cook segment will also come under the scanner of FSSAI.
Please read original advisory more details: fssai.gov.in
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