Odisha Govt lifts ban on Maggi noodles

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Jan 21:

Odisha Government today lifted the ban on Maggi noodles and allowed its parent company Nestle to sell the product in Odisha market.

The decision was announced following a high level meeting between Odisha Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi and Nestle CMD Suresh Narayanan.

The government, however, has put forward couple of conditions for the company before it relaunches Maggi in the local market. It has also warned action against the company, in case it violates any of the conditions.

The first condition asks the company to remove the ‘No Added MSG’ tag from the packet and keep the lead content within the permissible limit prescribed under the Food Safety Act (FSA) — which is less than 2.5 mg of lead per kilogram of product.

The second condition informs the company that the market sample of the product would be tested for any barred substance once again after a month of its re-launch and action would be taken if samples prove to violate the FSA guidelines.

“We have conditionally lifted the ban from Maggi noodles and have allowed the product to go on sale. We are going to test the product again after a month and in case of any violation, strict legal action would be taken against the company,” said Food Safety Commissioner Babaji Charan Das.

“Odisha has lifted the Maggi ban. Maggi used to be safe, is safe and will continue to be safe,” said Nestle’s Narayanan speaking to reporters in Bhubaneswar today.

Notably, Maggi was banned in Odisha on June 8, 2015 following a laboratory test report that confirmed presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG) beyond the permissible limit in the product.