Abstract

On August 13, 2015 the Bombay High Court struck down the nationwide ban imposed on Nestlé Maggi instant noodles by FSSAI. The Court directed Nestlé to have fresh safety tests conducted on the product before bringing it back to the market. Nestlé was asked to provide samples of each variant of Maggi instant noodles for fresh test to three labs in Punjab, Hyderabad, and Jaipur. The High Court ruled that even after the fresh tests, if the lead content was found to be in excess of the permissible limit, then Nestlé would not be allowed to manufacture and sell Maggi noodles in India. The results of the fresh tests conducted at the three labs went in favour of Nestlé. As a Consequence, Nestlé India resumed selling Maggi noodles in the month of November 2015. FSSAI challenged the lifting of the ban on the noodles in the Supreme Court of India . The Bombay High Court had erred in allowing Nestlé itself to pick the maggi samples the fresh tests instead of appointing a neutral authority to select the samples. FSSAI was of the opinion that the ban on Maggi should continue until a neutral agency picked samples and had the tests performed again.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Was the Bombay High Court’s lifting of the ban on Maggie noodles before a neutral fresh test was conducted on Maggi products justifiable in light of public health?
• To what extent can FSSAI be held responsible for the release of non-standardized food products in the market?

Keywords

Ban on Maggi, Bombay High Court, FSSAI, MSG, Lead Content, Kolkata Laboratories, Nestlé Maggie noodles