New Delhi: The Supreme Court today gave its nod to Nestle India and FSSAI to destroy 550 tonnes of recalled stocks of Maggi noodles which have passed shelf life and are in the possession of the company and the food regulator.
A bench of justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit said the stock which is stored at 39 locations of the company across India and the stock which is with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at Lucknow shall be destroyed as per the agreed procedures between both the parties.
Senior advocate Arvind Dattar, appearing for Nestle India, said the stock will be destroyed at the incinerators of the notified cement plants by FSSAI and representatives of food regulator can also be present.
Advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for FSSAI, said they are not opposed to destruction of stocks but there were some issues regarding disposal of the stock which are subject matter of SLP filed against the Bombay High Court order.
The bench granted liberty to the parties to approach court in case of any grievances and disposed of the pleas.
On September 21, Nestle India had moved court seeking its nod to destroy about 550 tonnes of recalled stock of Maggi noodles which have passed shelf life, saying their storage
may lead to health hazard.
The company had said that pursuant to withdrawal announcement and ban order on June 5, 2015, Nestle India Ltd had recalled stocks of Maggi noodles and till September 1, 2015 destroyed around 38,000 tonnes of the noodles.
The firm said it had 490 tonnes of stock pending destruction and 60 tonnes were received from the market. Hence, 550 tonnes of stock stored in 39 location across the country needed to be destroyed.
“This entire stock of approximately 550 tonnes is well past its ‘best before date’ and its storage is giving rise to conditions that may lead to health hazard at the said locations,” the plea said.
It said over 38,000 tonnes of Maggi noodles have been destroyed till September 1, 2015 at incinerators of the notified cement plants, keeping in view environmental requirements.
PTI