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Nestle India, Switzerland-based food manufacturer, has claimed to the Bombay High Court that the Indian labs in which Maggi noodles were tested were not accredited and hence, not competent to give the findings.

The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories have not accredited laboratories in Delhi, while the labs in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Assam and West Bengal were not competent to test lead content.

Senior advocate Iqbal Chagla, representing Nestle, told the court that, “The material on record shows that the laboratories do not satisfy all the conditions [for testing]. Therefore, the evidence on which the authorities have banned the products is flawed.”

Earlier in June, Maggi noodles were found unsafe and hazardous for human consumption by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). After lead was found above the permissible limit in some samples, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Maharashtra banned Maggi.

Nestle argued that the government could have recalled a particular batch of products instead of laying a blanket ban. Moreover, the samples were found exceeding the permissible of lead in seven States, while in remaining 20 states the levels were within limits. Till now Nestle destroyed 25,000 tonnes of Maggi out of 30,000 tonnes.

“About 25 per cent of the turnover of Rs. 2,500 crore has been destroyed along with goodwill. It has also instilled an apprehension in the minds of mothers and housewives that the product is poisonous and injurious to health,” Mr. Chagla said.

Having passed “arbitrary and illegal” orders “without any application of the mind,” the counsel argued that, “The entire ban order is without any basis and should be struck down.”

The company told the court that that the authorities were given 2,700 reports of independent laboratories in India and abroad, which showed that lead levels were with in permissible range.

-Sumana