Maggi ban: Nestle has accepted before the Supreme Court today that its popular FMCG product of noodles - Maggi - has lead in it. The company admitted the presence of toxic ingredients in its noodles during a court hearing on Thursday. However, it has argued that the lead was within the permissible limit.

The apex court was given this admittance by Nestle's lawyers as the case was being heard. The company's advocate said that tests reports conducted by CFTRI (Central Food Technological Research Institute), Mysuru lab had been submitted and it found that lead content in Maggi noodles but was well within the limit. However, the bench questioned the senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for Nestle India, "Why should we be eating Maggi with lead in it?"

The Supreme Court revived the government case in National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) against Nestle India seeking damages of Rs 640 crore alleging unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements of its Maggi noodles. The apex court today lifted a stay on the proceedings in a class-suit filed by the Centre against the company over the alleged presence of lead and MSG or monosodium glutamate in Maggi noodles.

The top court had on December 16, 2015 stayed the proceedings before the NCDRC and directed the CFTRI to place its test report before it.A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta was told by Singhvi that tests reports conducted by CFTRI, Mysuru lab had been submitted and it found that lead content in Maggi noodles well within the limit.

The bench said the report of CFTRI, where the samples of Maggi noodles were tested following earlier orders of the court, will form the basis for the proceedings before the NCDRC.

About the case

The Consumer Affairs Ministry had in 2015 filed a complaint against Nestle India before the NCDRC using a provision for the first time in the nearly three-decade-old Consumer Protection Act. It had filed a complaint against Nestle for causing harm to Indian consumers by allegedly indulging in unfair trade practices and false labelling related to the Maggi noodles product.

It was for the first time that the government had taken action under Section 12-1-D of the Consumer Protection Act, under which both the Centre and states have powers to file complaints. In the petition filed before the NCDRC, the ministry had charged that Nestle India has misled consumers claiming that its Maggi noodle was healthy -- "Taste bhi healthy bhi".

Nestle had to withdraw its instant noodles brand Maggi from the market over allegations of high lead content and presence of MSG.

The food safety regulator FSSAI had banned Maggi noodles after it found excess level of lead in samples, terming it as "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption. FSSAI had also said Nestle violated labelling regulations on taste enhancer 'MSG' and ordered the company to submit a compliance report on its orders.

(With inputs from PTI)