Govt files class action suit against Nestle, seeks Rs 640 cr

Meanwhile, a day after the government filed a class action suit against the company seeking Rs 640 crore in damages for alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements, Nestle India denied receiving an official notice.

Initially, a spokesman of the Indian branch of Nestle had said that the group had not yet been officially informed of the government’s request to the NCDRC, which has the power to order companies to pay fines.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday its own tests didn’t find unsafe levels of lead in Maggi instant noodles made by Nestle and sold in the US.

The complaint, the department’s media officer said, has been filed under Section 12(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Singapore and Nepal have ordered local importers to temporarily suspend of the sale of Nestle’s Maggi noodles imported from India.

“As some ingredients like groundnut protein, onion powder and what flour contains glutamate naturally, this may have led to the confusion and, as such, Nestle has decided to remove the specific mention of “no added MSG” from the label”.

In May, the regulator in the State of Uttar Pradesh found that the lead in tested samples of Maggi noodles was above the permissible level.

The FSSAI had also advised the Commissioners of Food Safety of all the states and UTs through its communication dated June 8 2015 to draw and test the samples of Noodles and allied products of other brands as well, Nadda said.

It also reiterated that authorities of several countries had found “made in India” Maggi Noodles to be safe for consumption.

Dismissing the allegations, Nestle Chairman Peter Brabeck told the Swiss newspaper Handleszeitung that Indian authorities forced Nestle to burn 29,000 tons worth of “quality” food in the instant noodle soup dispute.

The government has based its damage claims on Nestle India’s total revenue in 2014, which stood at Rs 9,485.32 crore, of which Maggi and its variants accounted for 30 per cent share at Rs 2,845.59 crore. Nestle rejected the findings of the state regulator, and emphasized that it is conducting hundreds of tests on its product.