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KARACHI: Retailers have said that so far sales of Maggi noodles have been stable as consumers have not reacted to reports of lead contamination in Indian manufactured noodles being sold across the border.
In India, a ban was imposed on the sales of Nestlé Maggi Noodles on June 5, 2015 after high levels of lead were found in the product packets. Nestlé ordered a recall of its product soon after.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said last week it was banning the company from producing and selling the noodles after tests in some states found high level of lead.
The safety scare is a huge blow to the company, which has been selling Maggi brand for over three decades in India, and has 80 per cent of the country’s instant noodle market.
When approached by Dawn, many retailers expressed unawareness about the food scare in India.
“What happened in India? We do not know anything. The consumers have not expressed any reservations in purchase of the said popular snack,” a retailer said.
“We are giving orders to the distributors for Maggi purchase as usual,” retailers in various areas commented.
A retailer in Tariq Road, however, said that a distributor of Maggi noodles is assuring shopkeepers that the product being sold in Pakistan is safe.
Some retailers were of the view that the government should take notice of the situation as Nestlé Pakistan produces the same product here.
Dawn tried to contact the public affairs team of Nestlé Pakistan multiple times but there was no response.
On its website, Nestlé Pakistan has placed the following message:
“Maggi noodles are completely safe and have been trusted in India for over 30 years. The trust of our consumers and the safety of our products is our first priority. Unfortunately, recent developments and unfounded concerns about the product in India have led to an environment of confusion for the consumer there, to such an extent that Nestlé India has decided to withdraw the product off the shelves in India, despite the product being safe.”
The website message adds that Nestlé Pakistan does not import any Maggi product from India.
“Maggi products sold in Pakistan are locally manufactured in our Kabirwala factory near Multan. Maggi products produced in Pakistan are safe and Halal. The product is safe in Pakistan and made in Pakistan.”
“Nestlé Pakistan pro-actively conducts tests on all their products regularly, and consumers can be assured that our products are safe to consume,” the website claims.
According to foreign media reports, Nestlé on Thursday said it is challenging a ban imposed by India on Maggi after tests showed it contained excessive levels of lead.
Nestlé said it had approached the Bombay High Court seeking a judicial review of the June 5, 2015 order from the government’s food safety regulator banning the product.
Nestlé, which claims the noodles are safe, had already announced it was pulling the product from sale points when the ban was imposed. On Thursday it said it would keep the product off store shelves despite the court action. The US Food and Drug Administration is also testing samples of Nestlé Maggi noodles that were recalled from stores across India last week.
Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2015
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