
The Bombay High Court has sustained the ban on Nestle’s Maggi and has further asked the State FDA & FSSAI to file a reply to the company’s assertions raised against the authorities for the orders being arbitrary and violative of principals of natural justice.
The hearing bench of Justices – V M Kanade and BP Colabawala opined that as of now the ban would continue till the next hearing of the case which will be on June 30, 2015.
Earlier
After the countrywide ban imposed by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Nestlé’s Maggi instant noodles, the company had approached the Bombay High Court to seek a judicial review of the FSSAI order that stated that the noodles were found to lack quality as per FSSAI regulations, 2011.
The FSSAI order stated that the regulatory body found three ‘major violations’ in ‘Maggi Oats Masala Noodles with Tastemaker’. Lead was found above maximum permissible levels as mentioned in the FSSAI regulations. Second, the label information on the package mentioned ‘No added MSG’ which amounted to misleading information as the flavor enhancer, MSG was found in the noodles after laboratory tests were conducted. The third offense was the release of non-standardised product into the market.
Through its petition to the Bombay High Court, Nestle was hopeful to resolve the issue pertaining to its Maggi instant noodles which have been banned across the country. The Swiss Multinational had said that the move to appeal to the Bombay High Court will not interfere with the withdrawal process of the banned product and the recall is continuing. While approaching the court, Nestle said that they were seeking a judicial review of the orders passed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Maharashtra and the order passed by FSSAI on 5th and 6th June 2015 respectively.
FSSAI in its order had banned manufacture, distribution, and sale of all variants of Nestlé’s Maggi Noodles and had termed them “unsafe and hazardous for human consumption”. Nestle was directed to recall all instant noodles products from the market after most states, that tested the noodles, found them to be in variance with FSSAI standards. The Apex Food Regulator further stated that without risk assessment and grant of product approval the product could not be allowed to remain in the market.
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