India court scraps Nestle noodle recall order, but demands tests

A division bench comprising Justice V M Kanade and Justice B P Colabawala observed that principles of natural justice were not followed while banning the product.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday will pronounce its judgement on Nestle’s appeal against the food regulator FSSAI’s ban on Maggi noodles.

Before that, Nestle will have to get the five samples of the nine variants of Maggi noodle tested at three laboratories accredited to the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) at Mohali, Jaipur and Hyderabad.

The court ordered Nestle to send samples for testing to three laboratories and said it would only be allowed to restart making and selling Maggi noodles in India if the results were satisfactory.

Two Indian laboratories in the western state of Goa and the southern city of Mysore also recently cleared the noodles, but the findings were dismissed by India’s food safety authority, saying there were lapses in the tests. “Hence, there was no need to grant a stay on the order”, they said.

In an unprecedented move, India is seeking colossal damages from Nestlé following a massive food safety scandal.

Bahuguna further declined to comment further on the case, stating that the regulator would decide on its next course of action only after studying the High Court order once he receives it by hand.

Meanwhile, the US’ health regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said on Thursday that their tests showed that the lead level in the popular instant food was within acceptable levels for US consumers.

But Nestle insisted that it does not add the flavor enhancer MSG (E621) to Maggi Noodles sold in India. It also quoted Sunil Jain, managing editor of the Financial Express and a leading economic commentator, who described the government’s decision to seek damages as “frivolous” and “terrible publicity” for the country.

Last month, its Indian unit reported a 20% drop in second quarter sales after the company’s Maggi noodles product range was pulled off the shelves due to safety concerns about lead content, something which Nestle strongly disputes. The judges said this was because the company was not given a hearing before the ban was imposed.