India seeks damages from Nestle over recall of Maggi noodles
PUBLISHED : Monday, 08 June, 2015, 2:07am
UPDATED : Monday, 08 June, 2015, 2:26am
Reuters in New Delhi
India's Health Ministry announced pn Friday that Nestle's popular brand of instant noodles “Maggi” failed to pass safety tests and ordered its removal from stores across the country after several Indian states banned it for allegedly containing unsafe levels of lead. Photo: AP
India's government has filed for damages from Nestle after a food scare involving reports of excess lead in Maggi noodles forced a nationwide recall, government officials said yesterday.
"It's a serious matter concerning public health and the law allows us to take suo moto legal steps, or legal actions, against erring entities," said one official in the consumer affairs department of the food ministry.
The claim, made on behalf of Indian consumers, was not filed through the courts but with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), which has semi-judicial powers and will decide on the merits of the case and the size of any damages. The officials said Nestle was being accused of unfair trade practices, adding this is the first case in which the Indian government has sought damages from a multinational.
Nestle has been under fire in India since one regional regulator said in May that it had found evidence of excess lead and monosodium glutamate in some packets of Maggi instant noodles, a cheap and hugely popular snack.
Since then, several state regulators have followed up, and Nestle said on Friday that it would temporarily withdraw all Maggi noodles from the country's shelves, though it reiterated the products were safe.
Total Maggi sales in India, including sauces and condiments, account for less than one percent of Nestle's group annual sales, but brand damage could be significant in a country where the noodles are ubiquitous, in homes and roadside eateries.
Nestle fielded its global chief executive on Friday to help quell one India's most high-profile food scares in a decade.
Indian newspapers reported separately that the national food safety agency planned to inspect all Nestle's manufacturing facilities across India. Nestle has eight factories in India, though not all of them produce Maggi.
