Maggi – Suicide or an attempt to murder?

I am compelled to write this piece not only as a person who has been consuming Maggi since 30 years but also as an ex-employee of Nestle India Limited.

It is painful to know that Maggi noodles is caught in a controversy as some laboratory tests ordered by UP government food inspectors on a batch has allegedly found eight times as much lead as permissible. It is also said that samples tested by Goa FDA have shown traces of MSG (mono-sodium glutamate) which is a taste enhancer and also lead content.  Now the news is pouring in from all around that Maggi is being called off the shelves by retailers and several states are likely to banish Maggi from the stands.

I was first exposed to Maggi at BITS, Pilani during the years 1985-89 when it was just launched. It was the only savior when the mess got closed for late goers and the only food that we used to look for in the middle of the nights when we were doing a late night study. 5-point someone’s used to keep themselves awake just to have a mid-night Maggi and not necessarily for exam preparation. The pack which always looked attractive was sold then at a special rate of Rs.1.65/pack. 

Subsequently, as I got into a job, I was fortunate to have worked with Nestle India Ltd (the makers of Maggi) based at Tirupathi for a short period of 4 months in 1994 after which I relocated to my home town, Vijayawada.

Maggi always tasted yummy and so does it, now.  But are we to suddenly discover that the taste is because of the presence of MSG? If the reports of the various state governments are to be believed, Maggi is 'injurious' to health given the excess lead it has. What I fail to understand is why it took so long for our governments to suddenly wake up and say that Maggi has harmful excess content of a particular element. I ask the following questions to myself:

• Was Maggi always carrying lead and MSG?
• If yes, why are we waking up now? What was FDA doing till now? 
• How was Maggi put on stands in the first place when it was always so?
• What is the SOP for our governments to allow a food product on stands? Was it violated earlier? If yes, who,when and how?
• Are the governments not looking at other harmful products like cigarette, liquor, etc.,that are ruining the health and welfare of several individuals and families?
• Is there something that prompted UP government to conduct tests on Maggi all of a sudden?
• What about the pollution that is caused by emission by old vehicles plying on the roads? Why are they not banning such vehicles which are silently killing people through air pollution?
• The governments want to prosecute the models too for endorsing the brand,so are they going to prosecute other models endorsing other brands that they never really use?Shahrukh Khan for Hyundai i10(which he never uses),all the Lux soap models who never use Lux, etc? I am sure friends can list a whole lot of such cases.
• What about all the roadside eateries which feed millions with ‘dangerous’ 'tasty’ stuff? Will they be made to get off the roads?
• What about all those consumer goods that are not as per environmental norms?
• Is it a manipulation at the highest level by competitors of Maggi for market share of the vast noodle market of Rs.3000-3500 crores in India? I know this is a very crazy question but anything is possible, isn't it?

The list of questions can go on endlessly given the way some 'powers' in our governments and some departments work. I am not advocating or supporting Maggi ( if it really contained excess of harmful substances) but I would request the governments to use the same yard stick for all products and care more for the health of nation’s public instead of suddenly waking us up to some unexpected ‘reality’. 

As of now, I am not sure if Maggi’s case is a ‘suicide’ attempt with contents of excess quantities of lead and MSG or an ‘attempt to murder’ by forces that are out to get Nestle for some unknown and undisclosed reasons. 

I would still consume the Maggis lying at home which we normally purchase every month along with our other groceries.

Only our governments can ‘say’ and ‘decide’ whether Maggi will stay on or off the shelves in India. Or does that all depend on money and media machinations? 

Lead or no lead, Maggi has too much fan following with 63% market value share and 20% share in Nestle India's overall business in India.