PANJIM: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and his Food and Drugs Administration department have been found on the wrong foot over the Maggi noodle controversy. After claiming that samples of the company’s noodles were sent for re-testing to a Mysore laboratory last week, it is now known that the samples were sent only on June 10.
FDA Director Salim Veljee, confirmed that the samples were sent to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) certified lab in Mysore for re-testing on Wednesday. “We have sent the samples this morning,” he told Herald.
Parsekar was pro-active last weekend in announcing that the samples were sent for testing at Mysore laboratory. While announcing the ban on Maggi, the chief minister wanted to take the entire credit but sources stated that it is not state government but FSSAI which ordered the recall.
The chief minister’s claim that the state government will order destruction of Maggi noodles has also fallen flat as the state government has no right to ask the company to do so.
“We have recalled Maggi from Goa outlets as a part of nationwide action. We will be voluntarily destroying it,” said a senior company official from Nestle.
The company has begun withdrawing stock from 709 outlets across the state following directions from FSSAI.
State government is caught in a major dilemma over the Maggi noodles issue as FDA has already certified that the product was safe for consumption. The local FDA officials were forced to implement the FSSAI orders of recalling the product. “I am confident about the results of the FDA test. I am sending the samples to Mysore to repose faith in my lab,” said Veljee after question marks were raised on the results.
FDA officials say that the Mysore lab results too would be in line with the tests in Goa. A total 30 samples were drawn from the market, of which only seven were sent for testing.
