Govt temporarily withdraws Maggi, bakeries not to sell any noodles

Thiruvananthapuram: The State government Tuesday decided to temporarily stop distribution of Maggi noodles from over 1,000 retail outlets following the Uttar Pradesh FSDA finding monosodium glutamate and lead in excess of prescribed limit in the snack.

At least 20,000 bakeries in the state have also decided not to sell any brand of noodles from tomorrow. State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob's office said an order had been issued to temporarily stop the distribution of Maggi noodles from its retail outlets in the state forthwith till the veracity of the dispute is resolved.

Kerala Bakers Association State President P M Sankaran told PTI that they have decided not to sell any noodles, including Maggi, in their outlets from tomorrow. "We have appealed to the government and Food safety commissioner to check all noodles supplied in Kerala market. We are awaiting government's direction in this regard," he said.

Kerala is home to at least 20,000 bakeries and none of them would sell any noodles until the government takes a decision on this matter, he said. Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation, also known as Supplyco, has around 1,400 outlets throughout the state.

The Centre had made it clear Monday that Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is testing more Maggi samples collected from different states following the detection of monosodium glutamate and lead in excess of the prescribed limit in the noodles. A case had been lodged against Nestle India by state food regulator FSDA in a local court at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh over safety standards of its Maggi, while actors Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta have also been separately dragged to court for promoting the 'two-minute' noodles brand.

Meanwhile, a Bihar court Tuesday ordered that an FIR be registered against Maggi brand ambassadors Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta and arrest the cinestars, if required, even as Nestle India faced trouble in more states over safety of the popular instant food.