Nestle Resumes Production of Maggi Noodles at Pantnagar Plant
New Delhi: Nestle India today said it has started production of Maggi noodles from its fourth plant at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand.
Nestle, which relaunched Maggi noodles on November 9, is presently producing it at three locations - Nanjangud (Karnataka), Moga (Punjab) and Bicholim (Goa).
"The commencement of production at Pantnagar will have a positive and rejuvenating economic impact across the supply chain," Nestle India said in statement.
"In past few weeks, Nestle has been in active engagement with the authorities and has provided all the documents and clarifications, before commencement of production," it added.
The company is yet to start manufacturing of Maggi noodles at its Tahliwal, Himachal Pradesh plant and is engaged with the authorities for that.
"We are yet to start production in Tahliwal, Himachal Pradesh and are engaging with the authorities and other stakeholders for the necessary clearance," Nestle India said.
It added that there are still some states where ban on Maggi hasn't been taken off and the company is in the process of getting necessary clearance for that.
"While the sales are allowed in most of the states, for some states where we still require necessary clearance, we are engaging with the authorities," it added.
Nestle India Chairman and MD Suresh Narayanan said, "We have currently reached out to more than 600 towns and cities, covered about 2 lakh outlets and have sold over 4.5 crore packs. The relaunch has a refreshing impact."
In June, FSSAI had banned Maggi noodles, saying it was "unsafe and hazardous" for consumption after finding lead levels beyond permissible limits.
Nestle India, which took a hit of Rs 450 crore, including destroying over 30,000 tonnes of the instant noodles since June when it was banned because of alleged excessive lead content, had stated that it would continue with the existing formula of the product and would not change the ingredients.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry had also filed a class action suit against Nestle India seeking about Rs 640 crore in damages for alleged unfair trade practices, false labeling and misleading advertisements.
It was for the first time that the Ministry dragged a company to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) using a provision in the nearly three-decade-old Consumer Protection Act.
Reeling under the Maggi ban, Nestle India had on October 29 reported 60.1 per cent decline in the standalone net profit at Rs 124.20 crore for the third quarter ended September 2015.
Its net sales had declined 32.12 per cent to Rs 1,736.20 crore as against Rs 2,557.80 crore of the July-September quarter a year ago.
It had reported a standalone loss of Rs 64.40 crore in the second quarter (April -June) for the first time in last 15 years due to the ban on Maggi.
