Nestle India has refuted claims by the Uttar Pradesh state authorities that its pasta product is unsafe for consumption due to the presence of excessive lead content.
Nestle claimed in its defense that the lab where the tests were conducted was not National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited and hence its results cannot be validated.
The response comes after a government-owned laboratory in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh claimed that Nestle Maggi Pazzta contained lead beyond permissible limits.
The samples of pasta were collected from Nestle's distributor Sriji Traders in the district of Mau in June and sent for examination to a state-owned laboratory in Lucknow.
Mau Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated officer Arvind Yadav was quoted by The Economic Times as saying: "After Maggi, the sample of macroni pasta was taken from Mau and sent to National Food Analysis Laboratory, Lucknow, in which lead was found to be much more that the permissible limit. According to report received on September 2, they failed the tests."
The report has been sent to the FDA commissioner in Lucknow on 12 October seeking permission to register a case against the food company. If it is approved, a case will be filed in the court, Yadav had stated.
Following the media reports on the alleged test results, Nestle India responded to The Hindu Business Line by saying: "Maggi Pazzta is 100 per cent safe. The finished product and the raw materials used to make it undergo rigorous testing during every stage of the manufacturing process.
"We have seen media reports claiming that lead has been found in the product and we are investigating these claims. We have not received any formal notification from the authorities in UP or from the FSSAI about such test results. The media reports also mention that the tests have been conducted at National Foods Analysis Laboratory, Lucknow. The laboratory is not NABL accredited nor is notified by FSSAI. The results of the laboratories which are not accredited cannot be relied upon."
