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The Food Safety &amp; Standards Authority of India (<keyword id="154680" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="FSSAI">FSSAI</keyword>) along with several states banned <keyword id="75190" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nestle">Nestle</keyword>'s <keyword id="6369404" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Maggi">Maggi</keyword> instant noodles in June, but the company did not get some of the test reports based on which authorities banned the popular noodles in the country, a company executive told the Economic Times. 

	Moreover some of the reports were not shared with Nestle before the announcement of the ban and they have now started trickling in, he added. 
 

	A company spokesperson revealed that no test reports were sent to it before June 5, 2015 when the ban was announced, except one from a Kolkata laboratory for a single sample of Maggi noodles sent by the Uttar Pradesh FDA in April. 
 

	"...and for that report, we had made our representation on the improper testing procedure," the spokesperson said in an email, responding to questions from ET. 
 

	The ban proved to be detrimental for the company. Maggi raked in over Rs 2,000 crore in annual revenue for the company. While that has stopped now, it spent Rs 320 crore to recall the product. 
 

	Global valuation consultancy Brand Finance estimates another Rs 1,270 crore in brand loss. Nestle claims it did not get a chance to explain its stand before FSSAI and state authorities that banned the product alleging excessive levels of lead in it and mislabeling on the pack. 
 

	According to industry experts, it was unfair not to share the test reports with the company before taking such an action. 
 

	Moreover, the delay in sharing results raised questions on the test procedures, since the UK, Singapore and Canada have found Maggi imported from India safe to eat. 
 "The way the matter played out was unfair to Nestle. The company wasn't given a chance to prove themselves," said <keyword id="2867937" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ashwin-Bhadri">Ashwin Bhadri</keyword>, chief executive at <keyword id="1459500" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Equinox-Labs">Equinox Labs</keyword>, which specialises in food testing and works closely with FSSAI on food safety compliance. 

	"Unfortunately, the issue isn't just about Maggi anymore. The controversy has had a global impact and the world is looking at India brands through the scanner,” he added. 
 

	Nestle executives raised the issue at a meeting they had with FSSAI officials on Wednesday. 
 

	An FSSAI representative present at the meeting said ideally the company should have received a letter informing it about the product not clearing the tests done and the reports of the tests should also have been shared with it. 
 

	Nestle announced that it was withdrawing Maggi noodles on June 5. But, on the same day FSSAI ordered the company to recall and stop manufacturing the product. 
 The company later approached the <keyword id="48485" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bombay-high-court">Bombay High Court</keyword> to seek clarity on the interpretation of the Food Safety and Standards Act. 
	(Image: Reuters)

Foul play with Maggi? Nestle says FSSAI didn’t share test results with it

Alike it’s delicious variant of soupy noodles, <keyword id="6369404" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maggi">Maggi</keyword> noodles is in a concentrated soup and there seems no 2 minute respite anytime soon. A week later after reports detecting high content of lead in one batch of Maggi has stirred up a controversy, <keyword id="6356830" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nestle-India">Nestle India</keyword> has initiated a quick damage control. Asking the retailers not to panic, Maggi has been putting up logics to defend its move, a news report by The Economic Times has claimed. 
 
 “The order to recall the Maggi batch is for February 2014, which anyway would have got expired in November 2014," <keyword id="75190" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nestle">Nestle</keyword> wrote to retailers. "This is an order from the state agency and no central agency has passed any orders," it said. reviewed a copy of the communication. 
 
The ET reviewed a copy of the communication where it has been further said, "This is an order from the state agency and no central agency has passed any orders.” 
 
 
 "The news of lead is yet to be verified in the second test. The amount of any such substance is so small in any food product that even the slightest of error in test results might give incorrect results," the note said. In an email response to the ET, a Nestle India <keyword id="6357308" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="spokesperson">spokesperson</keyword> said, "Some recent reports in the media about Maggi noodles are confusing people and we are working to clear the confusion as soon as possible. We are confident of our product and are sharing this confidence with our consumers and trade. It is too early to assess any impact on sales." However, insiders’ report to the financial daily has shown a significant drop in the sales of Maggi ranging from 10-40% since last week. Sales at stores in metros and bigger cities have been specially impacted because a lot of the current controversy has escalated on social media like <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> and <keyword id="6354616" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword>," sources have confirmed the ET. 
 The brand accounts for close to 30% of Nestle's sales in the country. National food regulator <keyword id="109212" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Food-Safety">Food Safety</keyword> and <keyword id="179673" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Standards-Authority-of-India">Standards Authority of India</keyword> (FSSAI) has initiated sample tests of Maggi noodles across other parts of the country, including <keyword id="6354925" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kolkata">Kolkata</keyword> and Mumbai and Nagpur. 
 Defending its flagship brand strongly, Nestle said Maggi noodles comply with applicable food and safety laws as well as the company's own standards of quality and safety before they reach consumers. Its <keyword id="122238" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Spokesman">spokesman</keyword> said Nestle has made a representation to the Uttar Pradesh authorities and has submitted large number of product samples to an independent accredited laboratory to independently evaluate the product. 
 
"We will share the initial results soon and will continue to update as new results are received," the spokesperson told ET. In its communication to retailers, Nestle urged them not to be defensive if any customer talks about the controversy. "Nestle is a big enough company and will come clean out of it. Please don't get into any sort of communication or opinion without legal guidance," it said. 
 Industry experts, however, say the controversy could have a severe long-term impact on brand trust. "In a case of this magnitude, both parties should make their reports public. In case the authorities have <keyword id="6370579" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="proof">proof</keyword> that the product in the market is tainted and unsafe, then they will likely initiate a public recall and initiate a probe in the matter," said <keyword id="2867937" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashwin-Bhadri">Ashwin Bhadri</keyword>, <keyword id="2867416" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="food-auditor">food auditor</keyword> and business relations head at <keyword id="1459500" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Equinox-Labs">Equinox Labs</keyword>, which works closely with the FSSAI, on compliance issues. 
 (Image: <keyword id="-101" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Times">India Times</keyword>)

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Foul play with Maggi? Nestle says FSSAI didn’t share test results with it

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Maggi is in a soup. But it won’t give up without a fight

BI India Bureau

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