The Indian government has filed a lawsuit against Nestlé for $99 million in damages after a regulator in Uttar Pradesh found monosodium glutamine (MSG) and excess lead in a sample of the widely popular Maggi noodles.
The government filed the lawsuit in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, a quasi-judicial body whose rulings are legally binding, according to Reuters. In the lawsuit, the government cited unfair trade practices, the sale of defective goods and the sale of a product without approval.
"The department took exception [given] that Maggi was largely consumed by children and Nestlé's advertisements aimed at popularizing Maggi among children," said a government official at the food ministry.
Nestle, however, challenged the claim in court, saying that its products are safe and was "disappointed with the unprecedented step" of filing the complaint.
We do not add MSG to MAGGI Noodles & there was never any intention to mislead consumers. Full statement https://t.co/278R4MtDTi (3/4)
— Nestlé India (@NestleIndia) August 12, 2015
According to Nestlé, the company has "a stringent program" to test the ingredients in its noodles, and the results contradicted what was stated on the lawsuit, according to Al-Jazeera.
"In recent months, we had over 2,700 samples of Maggi noodles tested by several accredited laboratories both in India and abroad. Each one of these tests have shown lead to be far below the permissible limits," the statement said.
Nestlé India is challenging the ban on Maggi noodles in the Mumbai high court, which is expected to deliver its verdict Thursday. However, even if the challenge goes through and the ban is lifted, there might be little Nestlé can do to recover since 400 million tons of Maggi products have already been destroyed and public trust in the product has begun to crumble, according to the BBC.
Before the fiasco began, Nestlé controlled 80 percent of India's instant noodles market and cemented Maggi noodles' dominance by stressing the ease of its preparation.
The noodles were Nestlé's fastest-selling food item in India, accounting for about $240 million in sales annually.
Nestlé India, which reported a second-quarter loss last month after a decline in sales following the recall, claims it is making "all efforts" to bring Maggi noodles back into the market.
