Recently Bombay High court has ordered FSSAI and Nestle to Retest the noodle samples in 5 different labs.
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While setting aside the ban, Justices V M Kanade and B P Colabawalla clarified that Nestle India has to send five samples of the noodles in its possession for fresh tests before bringing it back to the market.
Nestlé India’s attempts to rebuild its battered image following the Maggi noodles food scare has hit a setback as the Indian government has lodged a claim for Rs 640 crore ($100m) in damages. The division bench said a show-cause notice had not been issued before the ban and neither were samples tested at accredited laboratories, raising doubts over the results.
Nestle had challenged the ban ordered by the country’s food safety regulator in June after some tests found lead levels beyond statutory limits.
This order comes even as the Centre has dragged food giant Nestle to the Consumer Forum NCDRC.
According to the FSSAI, the bone of contention is Maggi noodles having excessive lead content, which Nestle India has denied.
However, Manglik said the company has already sought “a review and interpretation” of the Indian food safety authority’s decision in a petition filed in the Mumbai High Court and is expecting a decision soon.
Nestle’s lawyer Iqbal Chhagla had earlier said the company was agreeable to the suggestion, but the tests should be conducted in the presence of a renowned scientist and the samples available with the company should be used. This was in addition to the noodles and related materials worth 1.1 billion rupees kept in the company’s factories and distribution centers when the withdrawal was announced.
Nestle India, the country’s top seller of noodles, filed the case on June 11 challenging the recall, insisting its products had been tested without finding abnormal levels of lead.
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In response, Nestle said its noodles went through stringent testing at laboratories both in India and overseas.
