Ban on Maggi noodle stays

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday provided no relief to Nestle India and said that its two-minute noodle brand, Maggi, should be off the shelves till the next hearing in the case.

The court was hearing a plea by the Indian arm of the Swiss multinational seeking a judicial review of the order by the food safety regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), calling for the withdrawal of its top-selling nine variants of Maggi instant noodles on health issues.

A division bench of justice VM Kanade and justice BP Colabawala said the next hearing will be on June 30. The HC also declined to stay order of food authorities banning nine variants of Maggi noodles and ordered FSSAI not to initiate further action and defer the proceeding for withdrawing product approval for Maggi.

The court has granted two weeks of time to the state, Centre and FSSAI to file a reply to Nestle's petition and its allegations of violation of principles of natural justice.

The FSSAI told the court despite being asked to withdraw, Maggi is still being found with retailers. Authorities also informed the HC they have independently tested 5 samples of Maggi and found that the lead content is more than the prescribed limit.

The court, however, questioned FSSAI over its prosecution of the brand ambassadors of Maggi.

Nestle had urged the court to quash the June 5 order of the food regulator asking the company to withdraw and recall its Maggi variants from the Indian market immediately as they were "hazardous to public health due to presence of lead more than permissible limits".- which the company complied with.