Regulator wants more noodle, pasta, macaroni brands tested

Aditi Tandon

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 8

Three days after banning nine variants of Nestle’s Maggi, the apex food regulator has ordered a comprehensive nationwide safety review of 33 makes of noodles, pastas and macaronis of eight top food companies in India.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also ordered recalling all other brands of ready-to-eat snacks (except the 33 it has listed for a review) from the markets, saying these are being marketed illegally and without FSSAI approvals. 

The recall category would include top makes like HUL’s Knorr Soupy noodles, Indo Nissin Foods’ Top Ramen Masala and Scoopies noodles apart from a large variety of instant noodles and pastas being illegally sold across markets. Among snack makes to be reviewed for safety are top brands like Sunfeast Yipee of ITC; Foodles of GlaxoSmithKline; all Nestle's Maggi pastas; Indo Nissin’s Top Ramen brand and CG Foods’ Wai Wai instant noodles. 

The FSSAI has asked all state food safety commissioners to draw samples of the listed 33 makes and report lab findings by June 19.

The makes are to be tested on many parameters but mainly for the presence of heavy metal contaminants like lead, copper, arsenic, mercury, tin cadmium and zinc which are permitted within limits. “The 33 makes on which safety review has been ordered are the ones which we have approved in the past. Food safety commissioners of states have been asked to draw their samples to double check their quality in the wake of Maggi failing the safety test. The remaining ready-to-eat makes not listed in our review order are being sold illegally and have been ordered to be withdrawn,” FSSAI’s chief executive officer Yudhvir Malik said.

He admitted that HUL’s Knorr soupy noodles and Top Ramen’s Scoopies and Masala noodles will be recalled from markets as these are not approved as per FSSAI procedures.

Among 33 listed instant pasta/noodles makes to be retested are four variants of Nestle’s Maggi Nuti-licious Pazztas with tastemakers namely -- Tomato Twist Pazzta, Cheese Macaroni Pazzta, Masala Penne Pazzta, Mushroom Penne Pazzta; three variants of ITC’s Sunfeast Yippee noodles; Indo Nissin Foods’ Top Ramen Atta Masala Noodles; three varieties of CG Foods’ Wai Wai 123 instant noodles; all 10 Foodles instant noodles makes of GlaxoSmithKline; AA Nutrition’s Yummy chicken and Yummy vegetable noodles; Ruchi International’s Koka instant noodles and all the formerly banned Nestle’s Maggi noodles variants. The FSSAI advisory to states today clearly explains that instant noodles, pastas, etc., are non-standardised food items which are granted conditional approvals for sale by the FSSAI and that these will be rechecked for safety of consumers. 

“The safety of all other such products in these categories (read the ones not listed by FSSAI) has not been assessed as per the product approval procedures. As such, the same are unauthorised and illegal and cannot be intended for human consumption. These should be recalled,” FSSAI order read.