The Indian Government Is Seeking 100 Million in Damages from Nestl Over Maggi Noodles
India's consumer affairs department filed a complaint against Nestl with the country's regulatory body on Tuesday, accusing the Swiss company of misleading customers and endangering their health while also resorting to unfair trade practices. The Indian government is seeking damages equaling around 100 million in its complaint to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission NCDRC, the Times of India reported. It also moved to impose 18 interest on the damages until Nestl makes the payment, and said the amount owed might increase as more findings about the safety of the company's product surface. The government's main target is the hugely popular instant noodles brand Maggi, which it banned in early June for allegedly containing high amounts of lead. Nestl insisted the product was safe for consumption but removed it from shelves across India nonetheless. Officials accuse Nestl of attempting to make a misleading association between the noodles and health in the consumer's mind through such means as the advertising slogan "Health is enjoyable". They allege that Nestl sold some of its noodles as containing no MSG, which was reportedly not the case. They also accuses Nestl of falsely representing that a product called Maggi Oat Noodles had been approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India FSSAI, when it allegedly had not. Nestl India said in a statement that it had not yet received an official notice of the damage claims. "Our current knowledge on this issue is only basis media reports," the statement said. "We shall be able to provide substantive response after we receive the official papers.", Food safety authorities in several countries including the U.K. Singapore, Australia and Canada as well as an Indian government-approved laboratory have all said that the noodles are safe to consume, but the Indian government has questioned the validity of those findings.