Maintain decorum on Maggi row: PM to Consumer Affairs Ministry

New Delhi, Aug 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advised maintaining decorum on the Maggi row till all facts come to light, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today, as the government does not want to hurt investment flow.

"Day before yesterday, the Prime Minister had said whatever people say, we should maintain decorum on this issue (Maggi). Until we get the fact findings done, there is no need to create unnecessary noise," Paswan said while sharing about the Maggi row at an Assocham event here.

Paswan also favoured setting up a single coordinated body to look into many overlapping issues and expedite issuance of product clearances from various ministries in the food sector.

The minister assured the food processing representatives that the government does not intend to impose 'inspector raj' and hurt investment flow in the sector, but at the same time asked them to maintain quality of products and do business in "honest and transparent" way.

"The government wants to achieve industrial growth but not at the cost of consumer interest. Products should be of good quality and the industry should ensure this," he said.

Acknowledging problems in getting product approvals, Paswan said, "There is a need to constitute a single coordinated body to look into many overlapping issues and expedite issuance of clearances from various ministries and government departments in the food sector."

"We will write to each and every department and also to the Prime Minister that we need to seriously look into such issues being raised by the industry," he said adding that there should be a time-bound redressal to the industries’ grievances.

Paswan said there is a "media trial" going on in the Maggi row. He also spoke about certain labs finding Maggi samples conforming to food safety standards and later regulator FSSAI rejecting those test reports.

"There is public perception (about Maggi). If public perception gets dented even once then it become difficult to control. These days, media trial is happening in a big way. It had happened in the case of Coca-Cola too," he added.

Consumers get affected when there are health related issues associated with products, he said, adding that there would be criticism in a Parliamentary democracy when such controversies come to light.

In June, FSSAI had banned Maggi noodles after it found its 30 samples "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption.

FSSAI had also said that Nestle violated labelling regulations on taste enhancer 'MSG' and ordered company to submit compliance report on its orders.

PTI