Criminal case filed against Nestle’s Indian arm over high levels of lead in Maggi noodles

The Food Safety and Drug Administration in India has filed a criminal complaint against Nestle after the discovery of very high amounts of lead in a batch of Maggi 2-Minute Noodles.

The product, which is hugely popular in the country, showed elevated levels of monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer, which was almost seven times more than the permissible limit during spot checks in the state of Uttar Pradesh earlier this year.

Following the revelation, the state recalled around 200,000-pack batch of noodles by the end of April.

Nestle had then said that its products were safe for consumption as it did not use MSG for producing the noodles.

A court hearing has been scheduled for 1 July.

The complaint included Nestle’s Indian unit, along with the manufacturing unit, the retailer selling the tainted packs, two Nestle managers and also movie stars who had promoted the product.

In the case that the charges are proved and the company is found to be violating the country’s National Food Safety Act, it will face penalties including a fine that will be determined by the court, and jail time of at least three years for senior executives, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Nestle earlier said that the packs in question had been produced in February last year and were already past their sell-by date by April this year.

A spokesperson from the company was quoted by WSJ as saying that the company had not received any written document about the court complaint.