Bombay High Court Quashes Criminal Case Against Nestle India For Allegedly Making Maggi With 'Substandard Materials'

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court recently quashed a criminal case lodged against Nestle India for using "substandard" materials for producing "Maggi" and breaching the provisions of the Food Safety Standards (FSS) Act.The company was also facing criminal proceedings for violations of the regulations provided under the Food Safety Standards (Food Product Standards and Additives) Regulations 2011 and also the Food Safety Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011.Single-judge Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke noted that the Food Inspector at Nagpur sent the samples of Maggi seized on April 30, 2015, to a Referral Food Laboratory in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh despite the same not being accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)."It is not in dispute that the Laboratories in which these food samples were tested were either not accredited by the NABL or not recognised by the Food Authority under Section 43(1) of the FSS Act or even if they are accredited or notified, they are not accredited to make analysis in respect of analysis of the samples. There is no material on record to show that whether procedure of testing samples which is mentioned under the Act and Rules and Regulations framed thereunder has been followed," Justice Joshi-Phalke said in the order passed on February 7.Notably, section 43 of the FSS Act mandates that all food testing under the Act must be done in NABL or any other Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) approved or accredited laboratories.The judge noted that in the instant case, an initial analysis report was submitted by the State Public Health Laboratory in Pune, concluding that the product conformed with the safety standards as mandated under the FSS Act and the Rules and Regulations, therein. However, the Food Inspector in Nagpur, forwarded the said sample again to Ghaziabad-based Referral Food Laboratory in November 2015, which analysed the product from December 1 to December 23, 2015.The judge further noted the fact that the product was manufactured in March 2015 and it was in an optimal condition only for 9 months, which would mean that the product had outlived its shelf live, when the Referral Food Laboratory analysed it. "The report of the Food Analyst, State Public Health Laboratory, Pune shows the product was in conformity with the prescribed standards. The food inspector has not assigned any reason as to his dissatisfaction about the said analysis and forwarded the said samples to the Referral Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and relied upon the report which is not accredited and recognized laboratory as provided under the Act and, therefore, no reliance can be placed on the said results," the court opined. The judge, therefore, quashed the criminal complaint lodged against Nestle and the stockist, from whose premises the samples were seized on April 4, 2016 and the consequent proceedings.Appearance:Senior Counsel SV Manohar along with Advocate Rohan Deo appeared for the Applicants.Additional Public Prosecutor Swati Kolhe represented the State. Case Title: Shyamkumar Tulsilal Warnawal vs State of Maharashtra (Criminal Application 503 of 2024)Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Bom) 52Click Here To Read/Download Judgment

Bombay High Court Quashes Criminal Case Against Nestle India For Allegedly Making Maggi With 'Substandard Materials'

Narsi Benwal

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