Children averse to Maggi

In what is proving to be a game spoiler for Nestle, Maggi is losing its liking among children, who were until now the highest consumers of the instant noodles. Children in the State have started disliking the snack soon after knowing that it contained high levels of lead and monosodium glutamate.

Here are is a sneak into what the city feels about the consumption of noodles- “I liked having Maggi and consumed it on a daily basis. However, my mother has stopped cooking it for me, saying that it’s not healthy. I miss having it,” says R Pallavi, a schoolgirl.

T Lakshmi, a housewife, says, “We trusted Maggi as it is a popular brand from food giant Nestle. The instant noodles can be served to children as a breakfast in the morning or as a snack in the evening as it is easy to cook.

Many children are addicted to eating Maggi noodles for its taste. It is disappointing to note that Maggi noodles contain excess MSG in laboratory tests; we are not ready to serve the snack to children even if they demand for it. Our children’s health is more important to us than anything.”

G Sameera, an 8th standard student, says, “The manufacturer of Maggi noodles should be punished for violating the food safety standards. Any food product which contains harmful substances should be banned immediately to protect the health of people of the country.

Popular food items should be subjected to regular tests to ensure that the manufacturers do not violate the safety standards and compromise on quality to reap profits.” Meanwhile, people of the city are holding out protest against production and distribution of Maggi and are demanding complete ban on the food.

About 50 children led by AIDWA, SFI and Jana Vignana Vedika (JVV) staged a protest at the Sub-Collector’s office in the city demanding immediate ban on the sale and advertisements of Maggi noodles in the State following reports that the snack contained high levels of lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG) on Friday.

Speaking at the protest, JVV district secretary K Srinivas said, “It was unfortunate that the Andhra Pradesh Government failed to act swiftly in banning Maggi noodles in the State despite reports from various food laboratories in the country that the snack contained 17 times the permissible limit of MSG.

Though several States acted swiftly in banning Maggi noodles to protect the health of children from the harmful effects of excess MSG, the State Government was still dithering in taking a decision in this regard.”

All India Democratic Women’s Association city secretary K Sridevi demanded the Central Government to enforce the food safety norms effectively to protect the health of people, especially children. Packets of Maggi noodles were burnt as part of the protest. SFI city president K Vasanth, secretary B Akhil and others were present.