Court reserves order in Nestle India vs FSSAI case, hearing next week

Nestle has been in the middle of India’s worst meals scare in a decade after a regulator within the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in May stated it discovered extra lead in a pattern of the agency’s well-liked Maggi noodles.

A few days after taking over as the managing director of Nestle India, Suresh Narayan sat down with CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan, and explained that his “first mandate was to bring Maggi noodles back in the market” and that his company would work overtime to make sure it meets customers’ expectations on quality. For me, one of the key focuses will also be on growing other parts of our businesses as well, which includes dairy, coffee and beverages, chocolates and confectionery…

Meanwhile, television reports had on Friday reported that the court had asked FSSAI and Nestle India to subject Maggi noodles to fresh laboratory tests.

The Bombay high court has wrapped up hearing a case lodged by Nestle India Ltd challenging a local supervisory body’s statement that Maggi 2 minute noodles had high amount of lead, a legal representative for the firm stated.

“It’s a fact that Maggi is a big part, I am not diluting that fact”, Narayanan told said. We will be a part of this country as we have been for the last 100 years, respecting the laws of the land and also respecting all the authorities. “It is my hope that we are able to find a solution and we are able to move forward”.

Narayanan said due to the ban, “a whole business segment has been dismantled” and “the whole system (of supply chain, manufacturing and distribution) is on freeze”. It had posted a net profit of Rs 287.86 crore during the April-June quarter of 2014-15.

In order to overcome that, Narayanan said the company would be increasing the advertising and marketing spend on other product categories.

A two-judge bench of the high court, comprising of Justices V M Kanade and B P Colabawalla has asked the FSSAI to conduct a retest of the samples.