'Bengal should follow Centre on Maggi issue'

IANS, SNS, Kolkata, 07 June, 2015: A day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave a clean chit to Maggi noodles, West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi on Saturday said the state government should follow the Union Govt's directives on the issue.

"It may happen that the samples from Bengal may not have any shortcomings, but when the Union Govt has said something it should be followed," Tripathi told mediapersons here.

Banerjee on Friday said that her government had no right to act against the snack as the tests conducted on the noodles did not reveal anything objectionable.

"The tests were conducted by both central and state labs and they found nothing objectionable in them. If we had found anything objectionable, we surely would have taken a stand," Banerjee said on Friday.

"But so long as we don't find anything objectionable, we don't have any right to act," she added.

"The Union Govt has banned it, but it a subject on the concurrent list and I feel, taking a decision in haste, unless there is something to indict, is not appropriate. So I feel there is a need for further investigations," Banerjee said.

The chief minister's comments came on a day when the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered Nestle to withdraw all nine variants of Maggi noodles from shops across the country after tests conducted in various states showed more than the stipulated traces of MSG and lead in the product.

Several states including Tripura, Gujarat and Maharashtra have banned the snack while several others have sent its samples for testing.