17 May 2015

Maggi Found With MSG, Lead in Excess Quantity. Time To Say No To The 2-Minute Noodles?

Maggi maggi maggi! Think 10 times before you order or cook Maggi any further. The 2-minute noodles have come under a regulatory scanner as it reportedly contains monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead in excess of the permissible limit.
The samples collected in some parts of Uttar Pradesh were found containing added MSG and lead in excess. Such additives are said to be harmful for health, mainly for children. 



Source: cravebits
The Times Of India reported that the Lucknow Food Safety and Drug Administration has initiated inquiry and written to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in New Delhi seeking to cancel the licence for Maggi. The state regulator has also asked FSSAI to order sampling of the product from across the country to check quality, officials said.  
"We have tested Maggi samples at Kolkata's referral laboratory. The test results show that there are added monosodium glutamate and excess of lead. We have ordered further sampling," FSDA Assistant Commissioner Vijay Bahadur Yadav told TOI. 
However, Nestle, which manufactures Maggi, maintains that it does not add monosodium glutamate to the product, whereas presence of excess lead is "surprising" for the company. 
"We do not add MSG to MAGGI Noodles and glutamate, if present, may come from naturally occurring sources. Food regulators in India also do not specify any limit for the presence of MSG/Glutamate," a Nestle spokesperson said. 
According to Yadav, test results showed Maggi containing 17 parts per million lead, whereas the permissible limit is 0.01 ppm. Nestle says its records show lead content is negligible and less than 1 % of the fixed limit. 

Why is MSG unhealthy?

Monosodium glutamate, a kind of amino acid which occurs naturally in many agricultural products, is often also added artificially to packaged food to enhance flavour. 
MSG has been called a silent killer.

"A small fraction of people who eat MSG-rich foods report symptoms including nausea, headache and tingling sensations, collectively lumped under the banner of "Chinese restaurant syndrome". MSG has also been blamed for obesity, high blood pressure and even snoring," according to a NewScientistarticle.
Feature image source: cravebits

Source:Scoopwhoop




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