Bombay HC allows Nestle to export Maggi to other countries

Justifying its stand, FSSAI lawyer Mehmood Pracha said there was an impression that Nestle was the only company being “targeted”. However, he said, “Action has been initiated against three more companies which have exceeded the permissible limit of lead. It has been widely covered in news also.”

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Nestle India’s counsel Iqbal Chagla thereafter sought a clarification in the order regarding the export while he informed that 17,000 crore packets of Maggi had been incinerated until now.

“Another 11,000 crore packets are in the stage of recall,” he said. Chagla said the entire process of recall will be over soon while seeking an extension on the time limit to complete the process.

The next hearing will be held on July 14. Both Nestle and FSSAI have filed their affidavits.

The court had earlier said that Nestle India was anyway in the process of recalling its variants and FSSAI could initiate action on Nestle after giving a 72-hour notice to the company.

The company had earlier argued that CEO of FSSAI, while passing the order on June 5, had acted in an “emergent, drastic and arbitrary” fashion while raising doubts over his jurisdiction. Nestle also argued that the food regulator had not served any notice before passing the order of ban.

The FSSAI ordered Nestle India to withdraw all nine variants of Maggi noodles from the market terming them “unsafe and hazardous” for consumption. Nestle India was given 15 days to reply to a show cause notice asking why approval for all these products should not be withdrawn.

A manufacturer of Nestle products told The Indian Express on condition of anonymity that around 11,000 employees were rendered jobless after all six factories of Nestle India shut down.