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Business News/ Companies / Maggi recall may take longer than expected
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Maggi recall may take longer than expected

Nestl has to withdraw around 25,000 tonnes of Maggi noodles, adding up to 200-300 million packs, even as it contests the govt's test results

Photo: AFPPremium
Photo: AFP

New Delhi: The ongoing recall of Nestlé India Ltd’s Maggi noodles, the biggest such exercise in the country, will take far longer to complete than what the Swiss multinational has budgeted for.

Nestlé India has to withdraw around 25,000 tonnes of Maggi noodles, adding up to 200-300 million packs, even as it contests the government’s test results.

According to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the company has asked its 4,000 distributors and sub-stockists to send back all Maggi noodles packets within 15 days.

Nestlé India reaches about 4.5 million retail outlets through its distribution network. Of these, it gets to only a million stores directly, according to company reports. Other than these, there are at least a few million stores in rural areas that are not connected to the distribution network, but stock Maggi noodles.

The company started the recall on 5 June after the regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), directed Nestlé India to immediately withdraw all nine variants of its Maggi noodles from the market, terming them “unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption.

According to a person aware of the developments, Nestlé India submitted its initial compliance report to FSSAI, as sought by the regulator, on Monday.

In fact, the company sends a status update on the progress of the recall every day, added the person, not wanting to be identified. Nestlé India is expected to arrive at a time frame for completion of the recall by Thursday, said another person in the know, on condition of anonymity.

Nestlé India declined to speak on the issue.

FSSAI officials also declined to give details about the ongoing recall.

In its 5 June order, FSSAI also asked Nestlé India to explain within 15 days from the order (dated 6 June) why the regulator should not withdraw approval— granted for instant noodles with tastemaker—for all the nine variants.

In a fallout of the recall, CAIT on Tuesday approached Union health minister J.P. Nadda with a petition seeking his intervention in recovering payments from Nestlé India against recalled Maggi noodles packs, according to a report in Business Standard.

Nestlé is facing trouble in Africa, too. According to a BBC report, East African supermarket chain Nakumatt has decided to withdraw Maggi noodles from its outlets across five countries—Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Sudan.

Nakumatt’s action came following a complaint by the Consumer Federation of Kenya.

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Published: 11 Jun 2015, 12:03 AM IST
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