How India messed up the Maggi episode! Is there no accountability for the rashness of the state apparatus?

The consumer affairs minister has been recently bragging that India has demolished the "Goliath" like Nestle after filing a damage suit for Rs 600 plus crores after the Maggi noodle was unceremoniously banned by another foolish government agency FSSAI. Where is the sanity gone when such reckless steps are taken by government babus and ministers, in the name of consumers who are being harassed by food adulterators and fraudsters roaming around the country freely without any fear or retribution? Targeting reputed manufacturers like Nestle for "teaching" a lesson is just madness and counter productive. Hear what the Mumbai High court said to day about natural justice not being done by the government agencies, which are drunk with power but not accountable in any way! Read how the government is bragging about its "achievement" and one cannot help feeling a sense of dismay at these developments.

India is suing the Swiss food giant Nestlé for nearly $100 million, two months after banning the company's Maggi noodles for what Indian officials said were dangerously high levels of lead. The government announced Wednesday that it has filed a suit against Nestlé, seeking damages from the Indian arm of the company for "unfair trade practices," AFP reported.  Nestlé expressed its "disappointment" over the complaint in a statement, saying in part, "Nestlé India maintains the highest standards of food quality and safety in the manufacture of all its products." This case represents the first time India's Consumer Affairs Ministry has charged a company before the quasi-judicial National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, reports the Economic Times of India.  "For the first time, the government has filed a class action suit against Nestlé India to send a strong message to companies that they cannot sell sub-standard products in the country and put consumers' health at risk," said an unnamed Economic Times source. In their petition, the ministry charged that Nestlé misled consumers with claims that Maggi instant noodles were healthy, and noted that their packaging claimed "no added MSG," but that government officials found levels of monosodium glutamate well in excess of legal limits.

Now that government has received a rap on its knuckles from the judiciary, will it learn any lesson from this episode? Very unlikely! There are hundreds of claims made by different manufacturers with no scientific evidence and these are ignored by the very same government to the perils of the consumers. How one can justify the claim that a brand of beverage can increase height, brain power, stamina etc of children and such claims are aired day in and day out on the electronic media through saturated and disgusting commercials! It is beyond common sense as to why government has cherry picked on Nestle only? If the out come of this sordid saga goes in favor of Nestle, who will pay for millions of rupees lost by this company because of the action of a few bureaucrats. Is it not natural justice that those responsible for bringing down the image of the country is punished severely? Any reparations to be paid eventually must be booked to the officials and politicians who were behind this reckless episode.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

Lead and MSG in Noodles-An unnecessary controversy with suspect intentions

Does any body remembers a three decades old case of frenzied response from the consumers when some one reported in Pune that the hugely popular mango beverage in Tetrapack going under the brand name Fruiti contained dangerous pathogens which later proved to be a hoax perpetrated by the competitors and industry haters. Later it transpired that pathogens were injected into the market samples through an injection needle to implicate the Parle Agro, the manufacturer of these beverages and bring disrepute to the brand image of the product. Now comes another earth shaking news from the state of Uttar Pradesh which is known to be a chaotic administrative territory with serious law and order problems that an international food company is poisoning Indian people (or more precisely the hapless consumers in that state) through "adding" lead and MSG to the noodles marketed in that state! No one knows yet where lies the truth in this sordid episode though common sense tells us that a giant company like Nestle would not stoop to this illogical level. Whether this is vendetta by a few bureaucrats or industrial sabotage or a genuine slip up on the factory floor by the personnel involved must be investigated for taking severe action if the reports are true. Here is a take on this "attention seeking" report.    

"The state's Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) said excess levels of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) were also found in tests on two dozen packets. Maggi, the two-minute instant noodles, are hugely popular in India. Nestle India has denied that their noodles are unsafe or unhealthy. The company, a subsidiary of Swiss-based Nestle SA, said it had strict safety and quality controls in place. "We do not add MSG to Maggi Noodles, and glutamate, if present, may come from naturally occurring sources. We are surprised with the content supposedly found in the sample as we monitor the lead content regularly as a part of the regulatory requirements," it said. But FDA officials in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state, said all the packets they tested were contaminated. "Maggi instant noodles contained dangerous amounts of lead and MSG. We had to immediately issue orders against the company," news agency Reuters quoted DG Srivastava, deputy inspector general of the FDA in Lucknow, as saying. They said they found lead nearly seven times the permissible limit. MSG is commonly used as a flavour enhancer for Chinese food, canned vegetables, soups and meat but experts say too much of it can cause headaches, chest pain and nausea. Consumed over a long period of time, it can damage the nervous system."

The explanation that traces of MSG could be present because of protein hydroysis sounds technically logical and unless there is a fool proof method to estimate added glutamate as different from the artifacts generated during the process, down right condemnation of the manufacturer is not justified. As for presence of lead in these samples, it must be carefully investigated regarding its origin if really present in "dangerous quantities" as being claimed. India is notorious for shirking its responsibility as a nation to provide clean water to its citizens in any part of the country and if there is roaring market for the so called mineral water (most of them spurious any how), governments at the state and central levels, FSSAI, BSI must be thanked for! If Nestle really released some consignments of noodles containing lead levels higher than that permitted by law, they need to be hauled up for negligence and given commensurate punishment. Will government of India take action against hundreds of municipalities in the country who supply  the so called "protected" water day in and day out to the hapless citizens containing toxic minerals and disease causing pathogens with impunity? While this Blogger is not holding any brief for a corporate entity like Nestle, there must be a balanced response to any such events depending on the severity and seriousness of the lapse. 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com