The district administration in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur has fined Nestlé India Rs 45 lakh after its quality tests found the Maggi packets being sold in the area to be sub-standard, The Hindu reported. The administration has also asked six company distributors to pay a fine of Rs 17 lakh.
Shahjahanpur Additional District Magistrate Jitendra Kumar Sharma said there were seven cases where the product was found to be sub-standard. “The samples were tested by the Food and Safety department of the district,” Sharma told The Hindu.
A Nestlé India spokesperson, however, said the test results “appears to be a case of application of incorrect standards”, and maintained that the popular product was safe to consume. According to the makers, the samples tested were collected by the district administration in 2015, after the product was relaunched following a nationwide ban over safety standards.
“We have been informed that the samples are from 2015, and the issue pertains to ‘ash content’ in noodles,” the spokesperson told The Hindu.
The spokesperson said that in 2015, Nestlé India and a few other companies had asked authorities to set specific standards for instant noodles. “The standards were introduced and our product complies with these new standards,” the spokesperson said.
The district administration said the fine was being imposed nearly two years later, as it was hearing representations from Nestlé officials and distributors, NDTV reported.
The company said it was yet to receive a notice from the administration, but will file an appeal once it does, PTI reported.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!