Nestle India has relaunched Maggi noodles in the country, five months after the popular snack was banned over alleged presence of unsafe levels of lead.
“The rollout has begun today. It has been a challenging period for the Nestle organisation, and therefore, there is a feeling of satisfaction at bringing back Maggi noodles to the market,” Nestle India said in an official statement.
Maggi has staged a comeback in 100 cities and towns. But the product is not yet available in eight states — Tripura, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Nagaland, Delhi, Orissa and Maharashtra– that have banned its sale.
“Most states do not have a ban on sale of Maggi noodles. For states where specific directions are required, we are engaging with them,” Nestle said.
Last week, the Indian unit of the Swiss food giant said that newly manufactured samples of the instant noodles were cleared for consumption by all three laboratories mandated by the Bombay High Court, adding that it would start retail sales of the snack soon.
Besides, the company has partnered with online marketplace Snapdeal for the rollout.
In June, the FSSAI had banned Maggi noodles saying it was unsafe and hazardous for consumption after lead levels in the noodles were found to be over permissible limits. Following the ban, the company had withdrawn the instant noodles from the market and challenged the ban in the Bombay High Court.The company took a hit of Rs 450 crore, including destroying over 30,000 tonnes of the instant noodles since June when it was banned. In August, the court lifted the nationwide ban imposed by Indian food regulators but ordered a fresh test Maggi samples in three independent labs across India.
Nestle said it has conducted over 3,500 tests representing over 200 million packs in both nationally as well as internationally accredited laboratories and the reports are clear. Also, various countries including the US, the UK, Singapore, Australia and others have found Maggi noodles manufactured in India safe for consumption, it said. Nestlé will continue to collaborate with the Centre’s Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the company said.
Despite the clarification, the beleaguered e-commerce firm has shutdown marketplace Shopo in February after a year-and-a-half of operations
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