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Meghalaya sends Maggi for laboratory test

By Raju Das

SHILLONG, June 3 � Meghalaya Government has sent legal samples of Maggi for test to a laboratory in Guwahati and is waiting for the report if it contains lead and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) beyond the permissible limit.

Meghalaya Food Safety Commissioner Y Tsering told The Assam Tribune, �we have sent legal samples of Maggi to a reputed laboratory and we will be getting the results of the test soon.�

Deputy Commissioner Food Safety, SN Sangma said 17 samples of Maggi has been sent from all the districts of the State to the Public Health Laboratory in Guwahati. �We will be sending some more legal samples to the lab and wait for some time to get the report�, Sangma said.

But, Maggi is available and is being sold in stores across the State capital. The State Government has said that it will not take a decision now whether to ban the food product, but has urged the public to exercise restrain till the report comes.

In many States, Maggi has been temporarily withdrawn and sent for test, after the UP Food Safety and Drug Administration found the noodle contained lead and MSG beyond the permissible limits.

Lead in the tested samples of Maggi was found beyond 2.5 parts per million in some States and the test showed it contained 17.2 parts per million lead or seven times higher than the permissible limit. In the taste-maker, MSG was found, but Nestle which manufactures Maggi, does not declare about MSG in the packet.

Apart from UP, Kerala and the Union Capital have sent Maggi for testing. Kerala Government has withdrawn Maggi from various Government-run outlets.

In fact, the brand ambassador of Maggi, which includes Amitabh Bachan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta have been summoned by Courts for endorsing the brand.

The presence of Tibetans, Bhutanese and Nepali population in the State has added to the popularity of noodles in Meghalaya and is one of the most favoured street foods.

Ironically, MSG which is popularly called Ajinamoto, is liberally used in noodles served in the restaurants here. It is taste enhancer, but the verdict is still not clear on the ill-effects of MSG, but it is definitely not recommended for children below one year.

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