Natl dispute redressal comm issues notices to Nestle, govt

Citing Bombay High Court order which had set aside the countrywide ban on Maggi, the company also sought to recall an earlier order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) by which it had admitted government’s Rs 640 crore suit against the noodles manufacturer for alleged unfair trade practices and other charges.

Hearing the arguments, the consumer court on Wednesday directed the company to file its arguments against the Centre’s plea for retesting the company’s Maggi noodles before October 8, while expressing surprise that the firm would oppose fresh tests.

A notice was issued to Nestle India with regard to the government asking for fresh tests on Maggi samples.

A source associated with the class action suit said the government is seeking tests on the 27 samples because Nestle is expected to provide samples for the tests ordered by Bombay High Court.

He also said that almost 7,200 employees of Nestle India have been engaged in alternate programmes and training and not one of them has lost his job.

Alleging bias, Nestle told NCDRC that it was being “singled out” by the government in the Maggi ban case as no action was being taken against other manufacturers of similar products and also questioned why its competitor brands weren’t being tested. It also issued notice to Nestle on a separate plea filed by the government seeking further testing of Maggi noodles.

The consumer affairs department has claimed that Nestle had sold noodles with levels of lead higher than the permissible limit and with labels that the product had no added monosodium glutamate, a taste enhancer. All the test results showed that Maggi noodles are safe to eat. Meanwhile, the government wanted the Food Safety Standards Authority of India to be made a party in order to assist with further testing of Maggi products.

“Nestle India is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to get Maggi Noodles back on the shelves”.

Under the Consumer Protection Act, a complainant can provide to the consumer court samples of the product against which the complaint has been filed and seek independent assessment.

Seeking dismissal of the government’s complaint, the company argued that due to the ban, around 9,000 vendors and 10,000 suppliers were rendered unemployed and it has suffered a loss of almost Rs 250 crore. “It has caused a huge damage to our reputation…”

A Nestle spokesperson said today that the consumer court had given the company until October 8 to explain “our position on the additional new tests”. In reply to NCDRC notice, Nestle India said that it has not received complete documents from the government to which it had to file its reply.