The Central Food Technological Research institute, Mysuru, has informed the Supreme Court that there is no presence of lead in the Maggi noodles samples and the presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG) was within permissible limits.
In its report, submitted to the apex court in a sealed cover, the institute also said that MSG occurs naturally in Maggi and is not an added flavour.
A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh, which took the report on record, said it would examine it in detail and posted the matter for further hearing on July 19 and, in the meanwhile, directed that copies of the report be given to the parties within three days. In December 2015, the bench had asked the institute to test the Maggi samples on 16 parameters and submit a report to the court.
During the hearing, senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for Maggi manufacturer Nestle, submitted that the food department notification concedes that no lab test can determine the presence of MSG in the noodles.
He also maintained that MSG occurs naturally in grains and that no added MSG was present in Maggi noodles.
The Central government had filed a class action suit before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against Nestle, alleging unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements by the firm. In its order the NCDRC said, “It cannot be disputed that some doubt on the safety of the product will continue to persist till the issue involved is finally decided by way of an adjudication based on the laboratory reports. But, the product in question being a food product of mass consumption by almost every section of society, it is imperative to test and analyse its ingredients in an exhaustive manner before a clean chit can be given to it.” The samples were ordered to be sent to Chennai.
The bench then directed that the samples earlier collected by the local commissioner appointed by NCDRC, New Delhi, shall be sent to the Mysuru laboratory for testing and that the test reports be produced before the court.
