Maggi Stews in Lead and MSG Pot: Controversy over India’s favourite instant Noodles
Author Details: Dr. Ramesh Sardar (Associate Professor)
School of Management Studies, North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon (M.S)
Abstract
The Maggi imbroglio escalated to an unprecedented level with India's food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI) ordering a total recall of all nine variants of the best-selling instant noodles brand. This is the first ever recall of a popular food product in India. The transformation of Maggi from being staple food for students and bachelors to being declared unfit for consumption has been quite instant. The Nestlé’s maggi noodles were banned across states after samples of it were found to contain excess amounts of lead and MSG— a flavor enhancer. The recent controversy around Maggi noodles that has every household in an uproar.
The dispute has placed the processed food industry, regulators, government, and even consumers in uncharted territory.This dispute has raised serious questions about processed food industry, What caused such a vehement reaction against what was adjudged as the Most Powerful Brand in recent times and to answer this questions, the research cum case study paper would like to explore the controversy surrounding around Nestlé’s maggi in particular and food industry in general and highlight the shortcomings of food safety apparatus at central and state level and suggest the strategies to revamp the same
.
Key Words- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Maggi.
1. Introduction
Many fast food items have flooded the markets but noodles remained as the most popular item of all of them. Urban and semiurban markets are controlled by Maggi and other players are Top Ramen and other brands. Maggi has
