Indian food regulator Food Safety and Regulatory Authority of India (FSSAI) has stated that the recently-launched Patanjali Atta Noodles by yoga guru Ramdev did not carry the regulator’s approval.
However, the FSSAI chairperson Ashish Bahuguna has explicitly stated that the Patanjali instant noodles were granted no approval or license. He was quoted by The Hindu as saying: "For instant noodles, the companies need to take prior approval. They (Patanjali Ayurved) have not taken approval for it. Patanjali Ayurved has approvals for other products but they don't have approval for instant noodles. As of now only 10 companies have approval for instant noodles."
In its defense, Patanjali stated that the company has license for Pasta category from the FSSAI and according to its regulations, noodles fall under the pasta category. It stated that FSSAI had granted the company license to re-label in the pasta segment, The Hindu reported.
Sources from the regulator claim that noodles cannot be classified under the pasta group as per the food safety act. The Patanjali Atta Noodles come with a masala mix as well, the sources said.
FSSAI cannot take any action until a product is actually sold in the market and these instant noodles are likely to hit the storeshelves on the country in December.
Patanjali Atta Noodles were launched in the country's capital Delhi recently at an event where it was served, The Indian Express reported.
FSSAI's May 2013 advisory stated that food products covering a wide range of "novel foods, functional foods, food supplements, irradiated foods, genetically modified foods, foods for special dietary uses or extracts or concentrates of botanicals, herbs or of animal sources" must apply for product approval, reported The Hindu.
The advisory came into effect after a Supreme Court order in August 2015 which upheld an order of Bombay High Court regarding product approvals. The Bombay High Court had passed a ruling that the advisory does not have a legislative backing. However, the FSSAI had approached the apex court challenging the verdict.
The new issue arises just days after the return of Maggi Noodles in the Indian market five months after it was banned due to the excessive presence of MSG in a few samples. To compensate for the lost time, the Swiss giant is seeking to expand the sales through collaboration with ecommerce company Snapdeal.
Image: After Nestle's Maggi, Patanjali noodles get into regulatory trouble. Photo: Courtesy of artemisphoto/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
