BSTI orders further testing of Maggi

The standardization regulator - Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI) - has instructed its five regional offices to collect samples of Maggi noodles to further test for the presence of excessive amount of lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Talking with The Independent, Kamal Prashad Das, Director, Certified Marks (CM), BSTI, said that the agency has already tested samples of Maggi collected from different parts of the capital.
He said that the BSTI Dhaka headquarters has asked the regional offices in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barishal and Khulna to collect samples of Maggi noodles and test them.
“We didn’t find any harmful elements in the samples collected from Dhaka. We were mainly testing for the presence of lead but our detector couldn’t find it in the samples,” he said.
Das said that the instruments usually detect lead if it is over 0.05 ppm (parts per million). The samples that the BSTI tested had less lead than that, so nothing was detected, he said, and added: “As per the CODEX standard, up to 2 ppm lead is allowed in products like instant noodles as… that amount is considered as ‘not harmful’.”
He said that the BSTI had tested Maggi noodles as soon as it heard that excess lead had been found in the product in India. “Here, we didn’t find anything,”  Das said.
“We want the public to have full confidence in us. We will test the products throughout the country. We want to make sure that no harmful contents are used in the noodles anywhere in the country,” he added. Talking with The Independent, Farah S Aolad, spokesperson of Maggi noodles, said that the noodles produced in Bangladesh are completely safe to consume. “There is no difference between the noodles in Dhaka and the ones supplied across the country,” she said.

When asked about the impact on Maggi noodles’ production, distribution and marketing in Bangladesh following its ban in India, Farah said, “We can’t say that there is no impact but we don’t compromise on our product quality and we are confident that our consumers will put trust in our products.”
Denying the allegation that Nestle Bangladesh has asked the wholesalers and retailers to sell Maggi noodles at a discounted price, the Nestle spokesperson said, “We didn’t give such instructions.”
She clarified that during April the company had offered Maggi at a discounted price, “But that was a promotional offer and that started in April, before the Indian incident took place in the middle of May. That offer was closed down by the end of May.”
Denying allegations that the Nestle Bangladesh has reduced its daily production of Maggi noodles and fewer trucks carrying Maggi noodles were seen coming out of its factory in Sripur, Gazipur, Farah said, “I am not aware of anything like that.”
The Independent spoke with several supermarket outlets including Shwapno, Meena Bazaar and Agora to find out whether the sale of Maggi noodles had dropped or not. The officials of all those outlets said that they had not observed any drop in sales.
However a mid-level employee of ACI, the parent company of Shawpno, told The Independent that the sale of Maggi noodles had been adversely affected. In last two weeks, he said, unsold cartons of the noodles had piled up in many of their outlets.
The Independent also spoke with several consumers and almost all of them said that they had stopped buying Maggi noodles. Zania Haq, an employee of Maldivian airlines, said that she used to give Maggi noodles as school tiffin to her five-year-old daughter. “After reading the news in the papers, I have stopped buying Maggi noodles,” she said.
Sajeeb Hossain, a physiotherapist, said that he used to have Maggi noodles often. “As a bachelor living in the capital, I used to have Maggi noodles every now and then but now I don’t consider it safe.”
Meanwhile, the impact of drop in sales has hurt the district-level employees of Maggi. Speaking with some of them, The Independent found that they have been asked to push the sales, failing which their jobs may be at stake.
In neighbouring India, around 1,500 workers involved in manufacture of Maggi noodles have been adversely impacted by the stoppage of production after the ban. Nestle India's largest supplier of spices, Moga-based Paras Spices Ltd, has already terminated the services of “some workers” out of about 200 of its temporary employees.

Related News:

Maggi noodles under BSTI scanner (22-05-2015)

After Maggi, noodles of other brands under BSTI lens (27-05-2015)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BSTI orders further testing of Maggi

The standardization regulator - Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI) - has instructed its five regional offices to collect samples of Maggi noodles to further test for the presence of excessive amount of lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Talking with The Independent, Kamal Prashad Das, Director, Certified Marks (CM), BSTI, said that the agency has already tested samples of Maggi collected from different parts of the capital. He said that the BSTI Dhaka headquarters has asked the regional offices in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barishal and Khulna to collect samples of Maggi noodles and test them. We didnt find any harmful elements in the samples collected from Dhaka. We were mainly testing for the presence of lead but our detector couldnt find it in the samples, he said. Das said that the instruments usually detect lead if it is over 0.05 ppm (parts per million). The samples that the BSTI tested had less lead than that, so nothing was detected, he said, and added: As per the CODEX standard, up to 2 ppm lead is allowed in products like instant noodles as that amount is considered as not harmful. He said that the BSTI had tested Maggi noodles as soon as it heard that excess lead had been found in the product in India. Here, we didnt find anything, Das said. We want the public to have full confidence in us. We will test the products throughout the country. We want to make sure that no harmful contents are used in the noodles anywhere in the country, he added. Talking with The Independent, Farah S Aolad, spokesperson of Maggi noodles, said that the noodles produced in Bangladesh are completely safe to consume. There is no difference between the noodles in Dhaka and the ones supplied across the country, she said. When asked about the impact on Maggi noodles production, distribution and marketing in Bangladesh following its ban in India, Farah said, We cant say that there is no impact but we dont compromise on our product quality and we are confident that our consumers will put trust in our products. Denying the allegation that Nestle Bangladesh has asked the wholesalers and retailers to sell Maggi noodles at a discounted price, the Nestle spokesperson said, We didnt give such instructions. She clarified that during April the company had offered Maggi at a discounted price, But that was a promotional offer and that started in April, before the Indian incident took place in the middle of May. That offer was closed down by the end of May. Denying allegations that the Nestle Bangladesh has reduced its daily production of Maggi noodles and fewer trucks carrying Maggi noodles were seen coming out of its factory in Sripur, Gazipur, Farah said, I am not aware of anything like that. The Independent spoke with several supermarket outlets including Shwapno, Meena Bazaar and Agora to find out whether the sale of Maggi noodles had dropped or not. The officials of all those outlets said that they had not observed any drop in sales. However a mid-level employee of ACI, the parent company of Shawpno, told The Independent that the sale of Maggi noodles had been adversely affected. In last two weeks, he said, unsold cartons of the noodles had piled up in many of their outlets. The Independent also spoke with several consumers and almost all of them said that they had stopped buying Maggi noodles. Zania Haq, an employee of Maldivian airlines, said that she used to give Maggi noodles as school tiffin to her five-year-old daughter. After reading the news in the papers, I have stopped buying Maggi noodles, she said. Sajeeb Hossain, a physiotherapist, said that he used to have Maggi noodles often. As a bachelor living in the capital, I used to have Maggi noodles every now and then but now I dont consider it safe. Meanwhile, the impact of drop in sales has hurt the district-level employees of Maggi. Speaking with some of them, The Independent found that they have been asked to push the sales, failing which their jobs may be at stake. In neighbouring India, around 1,500 workers involved in manufacture of Maggi noodles have been adversely impacted by the stoppage of production after the ban. Nestle Indias largest supplier of spices, Moga-based Paras Spices Ltd, has already terminated the services of some workers out of about 200 of its temporary employees. Related News: Maggi noodles under BSTI scanner (22-05-2015) After Maggi, noodles of other brands under BSTI lens (27-05-2015)