Maggi lovers in the state will have to wait a little longer before they get their favourite noodle in city stores.
Unlike several other states that have allowed the sale of Maggi, Bihar has decided to get the safety certificates issued by the different labs verified before allowing the sale of the Nestlé product.
The Swiss giant had submitted copies of the certificates to the food safety department seeking permission for relaunching the product in the Bihar market. However, the state has decided to verify the documents before giving it a go-ahead.
Bihar had banned the sale of the snack in June 5 this year following adverse reports in which the quantity of lead was found beyond the permissible limit and the presence of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) had come to the fore.
Maggi is already back in stores in about 100 cities across the country, including Calcutta, Delhi and Mumbai. Karnataka and Gujarat state governments have already lifted the ban on the sale of Maggi noodles after its samples passed all the tests in three laboratories designated by the Bombay High Court.
Even though the Calcutta-based laboratory Mitra S K Pvt. Ltd had stated that the quantity of lead in Maggi was within the permissible limit a week after the Bihar government banned the product, the ban order was not lifted.
A food safety official on the condition of anonymity said: "Nestlé officials had last week made a presentation before the department seeking the ban be lifted. They have also submitted a copy of the Maggi sample tests to us. We will check the reports sent by Nestlé and only then, take a decisison regarding the future of the product."
However, a senior official of the food safety wing of the health department said the department might lift the ban on Maggi very soon because it had received a letter from the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI), which stated that the charges put by FSSAI on Maggi did not exist anymore following the Bombay High Court order for the ban to be lifted across the nation.
The official said: "There is no point in not lifting the ban when we have received the FSSAI's order which says that its charges against the Nestlé product no longer exists. The state government's order, according to which the ban was extended till the next order, stated that if FSSAI gives us a direction regarding lifting the ban, or if Nestlé India brings a no-objection certificate from a government approved laboratory, then the ban would be lifted. Now that FSSAI has no more charges against the product, we are seriously considering about lifting the ban."
The official added that the food safety wing received the FSSAI's order last week. The official, however, refused to give a tentative date as to when the sale of Maggi would be allowed in the state. Nestlé India had earlier claimed that all the 90 samples of Maggi had cleared the tests conducted according to the Bombay High Court's directions.
Many people want a quick decision and the product back in stores as soon as possible.
Ankit Verma, a 14-year-old, said: "I miss Maggi noodles a lot. The ban has been lifted in many cities. I fail to understand the delay on part of the Bihar government." Ankit's mother, Shanti Verma, said: "We would be happy if the ban is lifted soon."
Apart from Bihar, Odisha, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have not lifted the ban on the sale of Maggi.
