NEW DELHI, June 2:
A Bihar court today ordered that an FIR be registered against Maggi brand ambassadors Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta and arrest the cinestars, if required, even as Nestle India faced trouble in more States over safety of the popular instant food.
Samples of Maggi noodles taken in the national capital were found “unsafe” for consumption during tests by Delhi Government which decided to initiate a case against Nestle India.
It said officials of Nestle will be summoned in the next few days and that more action may follow including possible ban on the famous ‘2-minute’ instant noodle after the final report of the lab testing was received.
State-run retail outlets in Kerala were ordered to withdraw these products and Karnataka and Haryana directing random lifting of this food item for scrutiny.
In Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ramchandra Prasad directed Kazi Mohammadpur Police Station to register the FIR against two Nestle officials besides the three actors and investigate the complaint.
The court also directed the police to effect an arrest, if required, during the course of investigation.
The order came during the hearing of a case filed by lawyer Sudhir Kumar Ojha.
The petition had named Managing Director of Nestle Mohan Gupta, its Joint Director Sabab Alam and Bachchan, Dixit and Zinta, who have featured in Maggi ads at different times.
The complainant claimed he purchased Maggi noodles from a shop at Lenin Chowk of Muzaffarpur on May 30 and that he was taken ill after he ate it. This prompted him to file a case against Nestle, the maker of the noodles and the film stars.
The case has been filed under IPC Sections 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 273 (sale of noxious food or drink), 276 (sale of drug as a different drug or preparation) and 420 (cheating and dishonesty).
The Union Health Ministry said it will look into the matter taking note of various reports suggesting that the samples of Maggi contained higher-than-permissible levels of monosodium glutamate and lead.
“We have taken note of the developments and will look into the matter,” a ministry official said.
Kerala Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob’s office said an order had been issued to temporarily stop the distribution of Maggi noodles from its retail outlets in the state forthwith till there is clarity on the safety issue.
Kerala State Civil Supplies corporation, also known as Supplyco, has around 1,400 outlets throughout the State.
The probe into alleged lapses of food safety standards has already been expanded to test Maggi noodle samples from across the country following detection of monosodium glutamate and lead in excess of the prescribed limit in the noodles.
However, Nestle India claimed it has got samples tested in an external laboratory as well as in-house and that the product was found “safe to eat”.
“We have taken cognizance of reports of alleged lapses of food safety standards in Maggi noodles. I have ordered my Department to lift samples of these noodles from across the State for laboratory testing,” Haryana’s Health Minister Anil Vij said in Chandigarh.
In Karnataka, Health Minister U T Khader said that officials have been directed to randomly lift the samples of Maggi noodles from the manufacturing) units and retail shops, across the state for laboratory testing.
The West Bengal Food department has convened a meeting tomorrow to take a view on the Maggi row. (PTI)
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