In a huge relief for Nestle India, the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) has given a clean chit to its instant noodles brand Maggi.

The company on Monday said CFTRI, which submitted its analysis reports to the Supreme Court recently, has cleared all the 29 samples of Maggi Noodles that had been tested.

Nestle said the CFTRI reports have stated that lead levels for all samples are within permissible limits.

“The second batch of 16 samples was tested not only for lead and MSG, but also for other safety parameters like metal contaminants, crop contaminants, and toxic substances and so on, that are applicable to instant noodles as a Proprietary Food. Every single sample was found compliant,” it added.

Additive MSG In its reports, the Mysuru-based research institute also clarified that glutamic acid can be due to the presence of various ingredients, such as tomatoes and cheese, and there is no analytical method to distinguish between naturally occurring and additive MSG.

It also clarified that additive MSG is allowed in select food commodities as per the Food Safety and Standards Regulation 2011.

The CFTRI findings are in line with an order issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India last month, which also stated that no analytical method can be used to distinguish between naturally occurring MSG and additive MSG.

“We strongly reiterate that Maggi Noodles has always been safe for consumption as demonstrated by tests carried out in independent accredited laboratories. In addition to the recent CFTRI reports addressing clarification sought by the Supreme Court, and the tests conducted as per orders passed by the Bombay High Court, over 3,500 tests have been conducted at internal and external accredited labs,” Nestle said in a statement.

The company said it was diligently working to re-introduce more variants of Maggi Noodles soon.

The next hearing of the case is scheduled for July 19.

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