Tata Starbucks suspends use of ingredients not approved by FSSAI
FSSAI in April rejected 32 product applications made by Tata Starbucks for sauces, toppings and puddings
Mumbai: Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd is suspending the use of ingredients that have failed to get a product approval from the Indian food regulator, the company said on Monday.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in April rejected 32 product applications made for sauces, toppings and puddings made by Tata Starbucks, a joint venture between Tata Global Beverages Ltd and Starbucks Coffee Co.
The company “is diligently working with the FSSAI to provide the technical information relating to our pending ingredient applications that they have requested", a company spokesperson said in a statement.
The Seattle-based coffee chain also said that it has initiated plans for using other FSSAI-approved ingredients that meet Starbucks’ global standards.
“These actions ensure that we are able to continue delivering the unique Starbucks experience to our customers without disruption," the company said.
Even as it withdrew certain products, Tata Starbucks maintained that all its imported globally standardized ingredients served in India, including those it is suspending, “are safe and meet the safety standards in over 65 countries where Starbucks operates".
There are 74 Tata Starbucks cafes spread across six cities in India.
Tata Starbucks is the third company to be hit by a food safety scare after Nestle India and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL).
On 10 June, HUL, India’s largest consumer packaged goods company by sales, decided to withdraw its Knorr Chinese range of instant noodles following an advisory by the FSSAI on 8 June.
On 8 June, the FSSAI listed 32 brands of approved noodles, pastas and macaroni with tastemaker inside for testing at its approved labs and termed all the other variants available in the market as ‘unauthorised and illegal and cannot be intended for human consumption".
HUL’s Knorr Chinese range of instant noodles was not on the approved list.
The directive by the food regulator came after monosodiumglutamate and high levels of lead were detected in Nestle India’s Maggi noodles in tests conducted in April.
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