The Telangana government on Monday gave a clean chit to Nestle on lead content in Maggi noodles, but accused the Swiss food major of ‘misbranding’ the product after detecting presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the tastemaker.
In its report, the state-run Food Laboratory, an arm of the Institute of Preventive Medicine said that the lead content in the noodle samples was 1.929 parts per million, which is quite within the permissible limit of 2.5 per cent. However, the lab detected MSG in the tastemaker.
Under the rules, a food product would be termed as “misbranded” and the advertising as “misleading” if it is found containing something against what the company mentions on its label declaration.
In this case, the label declaration by Nestle on the noodles sample packet bearing Batch No S12004525BB claimed ‘No added Monosodium Glutamate’ was mentioned twice on the packet, which was misleading as its tastemaker did contain MSG.
Meanwhile, in another report received by the government, the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) has seconded the same finding. The IPM report is expected to be released by the government on Tuesday.
In a fresh development, the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States Commission for Protection of Child Rights directed principal health secretaries of both states to investigate noodles brands of other companies and submit a report by June 16.
City health experts said MSG has been proven harmful in a number of studies, linking it to neurological symptoms like headache, numbness, weakness and also abdominal pain. “Researchers acknowledge that a small percentage of people may develop reactions to MSG,” said Dr Hari Kishan Boorugu, consultant physician with Apollo Hospital.
In wake of serial bans across several states, Nestle has withdrawn Maggi from the Indian market but at the same time claimed that their product was safe for consumption.