New Delhi--In more trouble for Nestle India, the Centre, in a rather unprecedented move, has filed a complaint with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), charging the company with engaging in “unfair trade practices” in the sale of its Maggi noodles.
Meanwhile, sources said that Yudhvir Singh Malik, Chief Executive Officer of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) — the main regulator in the country — has been called for a briefing by the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday. The FSSAI, which was asked to look into the issue, has taken samples of Maggi noodles from different states for testing.
“I don’t know what the outcome of the FSSAI’s reports would be. But since there would be delay in getting its reports, we decided to file a written complaint before NCDRC in the interest of consumers,” Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told mediapersons.
The complaint has been filed by invoking Section 12 (1) (d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (CPA). This provision gives both the Centre and state governments the power to file a complaint in relation to any goods sold, either in their individual capacities or as “representative of interests of the consumers in general”.
Paswan claimed this was the “first time” that Section 12 (1) (d) of the CPA was being invoked, involving filing of a complaint without waiting for a consumer to do the same. “It is about selling substandard products and making false claims in advertisements, thereby misleading consumers,” he said.
A top Department of Consumer Affairs official said the complaint was not based on the Food Safety and Standards Act, which deals with quality standards to regulate the manufacture and sale of food articles with a view to ensure their safety for human consumption.
INDIAN EXPRESS
