Nestle uses animal fat in Maggi without warning, alleges NGO

There seems to be no end to the legal woes of Maggi with an NGO now moving the Bombay High Court against any relief to the two-minute noodles.

The Consumer Online Foundation will be filing a petition before the Bombay High Court in a bid to become an intervener in the case.

In its plea before the Bombay HC, the foundation is said to have opposed any possible relief granted to Nestle, which manufactures the 2-minute noodles. The petitioner has also alleged that Nestle uses animal fat without any disclosure, contrary to the vegetarian claims on Maggi packets.

This comes even as Nestle has approached the Bombay High Court against food regulator FSSAI's order banning nine variants of Maggi.

Nestle India had on Thursday said it has approached the Bombay High Court to seek a judicial review of the food safety regulator FSSAI's order over quality of its instant noodles.

"As part of the efforts to resolve the Maggi noodles issue, Nestle India has approached the Bombay High Court raising issues of interpretation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2011 while seeking a judicial review of the order dated June 6, 2015, passed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Maharashtra and the order dated June 5 passed by FSSAI," it said in a filing to BSE.

"At the same time, we are continuing withdrawal of Maggi noodle products. This action will not interfere with this process."

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an order last week banning all variants of Nestle India's Maggi noodles, terming them as "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption.

Nestle India had to recall the product from the market after several states banned the '2-minute' instant food as tests showed it contained taste enhancer MSG (monosodium glutamate) and lead in excess of permissible limits.

(With PTI Inputs)