New Delhi: Nestle’s global chief executive officer (CEO) Paul Bulcke, who rushed to India from Switzerland to handle the company’s worst crisis in the country, said Maggi is safe but it is withdrawing it from the Indian market as “unfounded reasons” have created “confusion”, affecting consumer trust.
However, Union health minister J.P. Nadda said that his ministry had received reports from all the states and after assessing them, it has come to the conclusion that nine variants of Maggi should be recalled. “We have come to the conclusion that food safety and standards have not been adhered by Nestle company and Maggi products and that is why we have given instructions that all nine products (variants) should be recalled from the market,” Mr Nadda said.
The minister asserted that Nestle had also not followed regulations of labelling, while another of its variant, Maggi Oats Masala Noodles, was in the market without prior approval of the government, which is why it too have been ordered to be recalled.
FSSAI said that the analysis of the received reports revealed the presence of lead in excess of the permissible level of 2.5 ppm (parts per million) in Maggi instant noodles. FSSAI said that Maggi’s label of “no added MSG” was “misleading”. It said that company representatives were given a hearing on Thursday by the chairman and CEO of FSSAI to seek their response in the matter.
