BackConsumer court issues notice to Nestle India on class action suit
The suit alleges unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements of Maggi instant noodles
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India’s top consumer court, the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC), on Monday issued notice to Nestle India Ltd on a class action suit filed by the department of consumer affairs (DCA) seeking ₹ 640 crore in damages.
The suit filed in public interest on 11 August alleges unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements for Maggi instant noodles by the Indian unit of Swiss packaged foods company Nestle SA.
The damages sought from Nestle India are for the manufacture and sale of variants of Maggi noodles that contained lead and monosodium glutamate in excess of permitted levels, which allegedly harmed consumers.
At the hearing, a division bench of the NCDRC, comprising justices V.K Jain and B.C Gupta, while deciding upon the maintainability of the suit, repeatedly questioned the DCA about the “specific standard" that had been prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, or any other rules on the permissible lead content.
“In the complaint, you have alleged that as per the tests conducted in various laboratories across the country, it was found that variants of Maggi noodles contain levels of lead beyond 0.015 ppm (parts per million). Regarding this, I wish to ask if there is any specific standard on the basis of which such claims are being made. Further, in the absence of a set standard, which provision would apply?" Jain asked.
“It is the domain of the food authority and would be their decision while deciding such matters in the absence of a fixed standard," argued additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain.
This argument was set aside by the bench as it would amount to extending arbitrary power to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
“At this moment, what material evidence do you have to show that the lead content exceeds the permissible levels?" the bench asked.
It also raised doubts about the procedure that had been followed for sending samples (whole packets or part of the noodles) to the various labs; the 13 August Bombay high court judgment that called for another test was silent on this issue.
The Bombay high court set aside the food regulator’s nationwide ban order on the sale of Maggi noodles and said it had not been able to “substantiate" its “tall claim" of the food product being unsafe, and told the manufacturer that it will be allowed to resume production and sales once the popular snack is retested and cleared for consumption by government-approved laboratories.
The court also slammed the regulator for “lack of transparency" and passing orders in an “arbitrary manner".
The bench also directed Nestle to submit sealed samples of Maggi Masala and Maggi Oats Noodles that it had brought to the court to be sent for retesting to an accredited lab.
The DCA told the NCDRC that the pivot of the complaint was not the test reports but the interest of the consumers who had been misled by unfair trade practices and assertions made by Nestle on the presence of monosodium glutamate and lead levels in their products.
The department also claimed that Nestle India had begun sale of its Maggi Masala Oats Noodles without obtaining the requisite product approval from the food authority.
The court has sought a reply to the notices in a month and has marked 30 September as the next date of hearing.
“We will take appropriate action as advised after we receive the notice," said a Nestle India spokesperson.
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