Ahmedabad

The Gujarat Food and Drugs Control Administration has shared the methods and protocols of food sample testing adopted in the case of Nestle’s famous noodle brand Maggi with the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), officials said.

“The US Food and Drug Administration requested us to share with them the testing methods and protocols for noodle brands including Maggi. We have shared it with USFDA,” Gujarat Food and Drugs Control Administration Commissioner H G Koshia told PTI.

“As they (USA) have been importing various brands of noodles, especially Maggi, from India, they (USA) wanted to check their quality in the US market. They wanted to know the methods of Gujarat FDCA…,” Koshia said.

The sharing of information between the two regulators is just an act of exchanging best practices, he said.

“USFDA’s India office frequently visits the Gujarat Food and Drugs Control Authority. Many times they (USFDA) want to know how food and drug safety measures are being enforced at the state level,” he said.

“They (USFDA) recently visited FDCA Gujarat, they wanted to see what is the government facility, what is the infrastructure, how we monitor and how we make sure that citizens get the best food and pharmaceutical facilities,” he said.

“So it is an interaction between the two regulators. We are sharing our best practices and they also share with us,” Koshia added.

The Gujarat government had on June 4 imposed a ban on the sale of Maggi noodles after its test reports found that it was unsafe for health.

The decision was taken after the test reports showed that lead was present above the prescribed limit and also showed the presence of monosodium glutamate. The lead content was found to be 2.8 PPM to 5 PPM (particles per million), instead of the prescribed limit of 2.5 PPM.

The state government had also asked the company to withdraw all its stock of Maggi from the state.

PTI