New Delhi: Karnataka and Gujarat have lifted the ban on the manufacture and sale of Maggi noodles, thus paving way for Nestle India’s popular instant food brand to return to store shelves.
The announcements by the two states follow a clean chit given by three government-approved laboratories to the noodles brand. Last week, Nestle India had said that all samples of Maggi had cleared tests conducted by the three laboratories, as mandated by the Bombay High Court.
Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader told reporters in Bengaluru that the state government would withhold the implementation of a central order on not allowing the production and sale of Maggi because of lack of clarity on the permissible limits of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and lead.
Similarly, the BJP-ruled Gujarat government also lifted the ban on sale of Maggi.
According to sources, central food regulator FSSAI will go through test reports by three labs before taking any decision on lifting the ban it imposed in June this year. It may be recalled that FSSAI had banned Maggi noodles saying it was unsafe for consumption after finding lead levels beyond permissible limits.
Nestle India had challenged the ban by FSSAI in the Bombay High Court. In August, the court lifted the nation-wide ban imposed by the Indian food regulators on Maggi noodles but ordered a fresh test of samples of the product in three independent labs across India.
