Maggi instant noodles - 3.3-crore packets vanish within 10 days

There is a saying 'you can't put a good man down'. The same holds good for instant noodles as well because, after its relaunch, Nestle's Maggi instant noodles have vanished from the shelves at a fast rate. Nearly 3.3-crore packets have vanished within just 10 days.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 21 November 2015.

These 3.3 crore packs have been sold across 350 towns following its relaunch five months after it was banned by central food safety regulator FSSAI. The company is selling Maggi at 1.2 lakh outlets through 724 distributors.
Nestle had relaunched the Maggi instant noodles in the market on November 9, 2015 after fulfilling conditions that had been set by Bombay High Court which lifted ban imposed by FSSAI and Maharashtra FDA.
The company has indicated that the ban had impacted 3.97 lakh wheat farmers and 15,000 spice farmers besides over 10,000 employees of its suppliers. It had also had an effect on its 3,000 contract workers.
Nestle India has also said that it had to bear an exceptional cost of Rs 476.2 crore, which included cost of destroying 34,663 tons of the noodles.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Moody and the Humpty Dumpty syndrome (satire)

Winning elections is not as simple as making tea (satire)

Indian smugglers are celebs, boast of official doubles (satire)


Tea is a health drink - four cups a day can keep the doctors away

No more 'Rent-a-Womb' in India

Tourist bus ploughs into pedestrians in Union Square, San Francisco - 20 injured


Big B attends 21st Kolkata International Film Festival at Netaji Indoor Stadium

Alisha Chinai adds to the glamour quotient at Wembley Stadium

24th James Bond movie 'Spectre' earns USD 300 million in less than two weeks


Jihadi John killed by a 1000-mph missile striking his car

Edmund Fitzgerald sank in the Lake Superior 40 years back with 29 on board

Bomb in Airbus A321 responsible for Sinai Peninsula crash and 224 deaths

Nestle India back in business – starts production of Maggi noodles

Nestle India, the Swiss giant, has indicated that it has restarted its production lines in three of its units in India and the products would come in the market once its fresh batch of products clear the prescribed tests as given by the food testing laboratories.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 26 October 2015.

It may be recalled that Nestle had to withdraw Maggi from market and stop production in June after lab tests found lead and MSG beyond permissible limits in its products. Nestle would send first samples of the fresh batches to three accredited labs for tests as directed by the Bombay High Court.
The production facilities have been restarted in Nanjangud (Karnataka), Moga (Punjab) and Bicholim (Goa) and samples would be sent to three accredited laboratories as designated by the High Court.
Nestle India had to destroying over 30,000 tonnes of its products because of the findings.
A total of 90 samples, covering six variants, had been tested by these laboratories and have been clear with lead much below the permissible limits.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting links -

The global broom campaign (satire)

Moody searching for a place where no leader has gone (Satire)

Moody, Jet Lee and missing pulses (Satire)


Fossils and eggshells of baby dinosaurs found in Gobi Desert

Parama Island flyover adds to traffic jams in Kolkata – made one-way

Future of street foods in Delhi bleak - Delhi bans cooking on roads


Arnold Schwarzenegger could play in Rajinikanth-starrer 'Enthiran 2'

Emma Roberts and her horror-comedy series "Scream Queens"

India is one of 81 countries vying for Best Foreign Film in the 88th Academy Awards


Despite US airstrikes, ISIS still makes £300-million a year from oil

Syrian gang caught trying to smuggle 20-tonnes of cannabis worth £150million into Europe

US airdrops 50-tons of ammunition for M-16s and AK-47 to Syrian fighters

Ramdev graduates from yoga-guru to marketing guru to capture Maggi’s market

Baba Ramdev, the yoga-guru, plans to, now, graduated to marketing and be known as the marketing guru. He is keen to capture the serval crores of rupee slot left vacant by Nestle because of withdrawal of its Maggi instant noodles from the shelves.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 9 October 2015.

His Patanjali Ayurveda is ready to launch its instant noodles. It will be a purely desi brand and would be priced at just Rs 15. Obviously, his brand wants to position itself as an alternate to a foreign brand and market it through some well-known outlets that have a pan Indian presence.
The catch line for the Ramdev noodles is "Jhat pat pakao, aur befikr khao" – it will be perfectly safe with 'no added MSG and lead'. For Maggi, it was ‘two-minute’ noodle.
The desi brand would be launched on October 15. It will be made from whole wheat flour (atta), unlike noodles of other companies where maida is used extensively with only 10 per cent atta. Moreover, “Patanjali noodles will use rice-bran oil and not cheap and inferior palm oil used by others.
He has also added that his work is based on the principles of swadesshi, where we work for the betterment and health of the country. Who knows – with the tremendous Indian influence in Silicon Valley and other corners of the globe, this new brand of noodles might even wean away foreigners from their own products.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-
Skywalk planned by UP tourism department to connect Taj Mahal with Agra Fort

Undaunted by a target of 200, South Africa romp home in Dharamsala with two balls to spare

After yoga, central government promotes outdoor sports like jungle safari, rafting


Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to promote tourism in Bengal

Sunny Leone is a guest at the PETA US’ 35th anniversary gala at the Hollywood Palladium

X-Files, Scully and Mulder to return on January 24th after a 13-year-break


ISIS harvesting organs of healthy individuals to treat the injured jihadists

US airstrike targets a hospital in Kunduz instead of Taliban outposts – 9 Doctors Without Borders members killed

Russia carries out airstrikes in Syria – targets CIA-backed rebels instead of ISIS


Durga Puja is the busiest time of the year for Kumortuli

Puja Special issues of Bengali magazines

Durga Puja today is a commercial venture

Maggi noodles are banned in India but, the same Maggi is safe in the UK

This is very strange that Maggi products have been banned in India and Nestle had to destroy crores rupees worth of the product – but, the same Maggi, when tested in the UK, has come out with flying colors. Nearly 900 samples had been tested and they have been cleared for consumption because the level of lead is well within the permissible limits as per the EU standards.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 1 July 2015.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA), who are the food regulators in Britain have given a clean chit to Nestle for Maggi manufactured in India because the levels of lead in the product are well within the EU permissible levels and would not be a concern to consumers. They had tested the ‘masala flavor’ because that is the only flavor that Britain imports from India.
Food regulators of other countries such the Vietnam Food Administration (VFA), National Measurement Institute in Australia and Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) have also declared that Maggi noodles imported from India are "completely safe to eat".
Incidentally, Nestle India at present exports Maggi noodles to Canada, UK, Singapore and Kenya and to third parties in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Obviously one wonders whether the decision of the Indian regulator was a hasty one against Nestle for its products. Also, the norms in Britain as specified by EU needs to be checked and the position reconciled. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

A few more must reads -
Skinny jeans a health hazard as an Adelaide woman found out in the park

Good news from the Cold War front – Putin rings up Obama in the White House

Agra Railway Police sends 109 persons to jail for committing nuisance on railway property

Thieves in UP steal nine buffaloes from BJP MLA’s farmhouse

No more cold drinks or junk food for Amarnath Yatra


Six women vanish from Ohio – suspected to be victims of serial killing

France paralyzed by taxi drivers strike – grouse against Uber cabs lead to chaos

Two girl suicide bombers kill at least 30 in Nigerian market


Disguises in Indian movies and TV

Movies on rebirth – hot favorites of Bollywood