India’s government are suing Nestle for $100 million over “unfair trade practices” after it was discovered that popular food product Maggi noodles contained unsafe levels of lead.
The lawsuit has been filed with India’s National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), and seeks 6,400 million rupees ($98.6m) in damages from Nestle India.
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The Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a statement, “Our complaint is over their unfair trade practices and the court will now issue them notices to hear their response“.
Aljazeera.com reports:
In April, laboratory tests ordered by some state governments found the noodles contained far higher levels of lead than legally allowed. The tests also detected the flavour enhancer chemical monosodium glutamate, or MSG, which is not mentioned in the product’s list of ingredients.
In a statement on Wednesday, Nestle said the company has “a stringent programme” to test the ingredients in its noodles.
“In recent months, we had over 2,700 samples of MAGGI Noodles tested by several accredited laboratories both in India and abroad. Each one of these tests have shown lead to be far below the permissible limits,” the statement said.
Nestle India is challenging the ban on Maggi noodles in the Mumbai high court, which is expected to deliver its verdict on Thursday.
We do not add MSG to MAGGI Noodles & there was never any intention to mislead consumers. Full statement http://t.co/278R4MtDTi (3/4)
— Nestlé India (@NestleIndia) August 12, 2015
Maggi noodles are a hugely popular snack and Nestle’s “two-minute” advertising campaign stressing the ease of preparing the food have made it a household name in India.
The noodles were Nestle’s fastest-selling food item in India, accounting for about 15 billion rupees ($240m) in sales annually.
Nestle India said earlier it would destroy instant noodles worth 3.2 billion rupees ($50m) following the sales ban.
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