Mumbai doctors raise red flag over Maharashtra's Maggi lead levels

Latest findings on Maggi noodles by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labs in Maharashtra have revealed that the lead content in the product is between 0.1 and 1.4 parts per million (ppm).

On Friday, state FDA commissioner Dr Harshadeep Kamble said nine samples of variants of Maggi noodles were analysed and lead content levels of up to 1.4 ppm were found. The levels were below 2.5 ppm, which is said to be the 'permissible' limit for lead in food as per the Food Standards and Safety Act of India (FSSAI).

Doctors, however, said permissible limits have been arbitrarily set without long-term studies and lead as high as up to 1.4 ppm in foodstuffs is harmful.

"I would not advise any person to have Maggi even if it has lead up to 1.4 ppm. Lead is a toxic heavy metal that is naturally present in the soil and permeates into groundwater. If groundwater with high levels of lead is used for production without adequate purification, high levels of lead will be found in manufactured packed food," said Dr Altaf Patel, former professor, medicine, at JJ hospital, and director, medicine, at Jaslok Hospital.

Eating Maggi everyday is an absolute no-no, said doctors, as small amounts of lead accumulate in the body over a period of time, leading to chronic lead toxicity.

Dr Pratit Samdani, consultant physician, Bhatia hospital in Tardeo, said even small amount accumulated in body contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease. "When you are continuously eating Maggi, lead levels will concentrate in the blood over the years. Patients with lead toxicity come with typical symptoms — dip in haemoglobin levels, dementia and weakness in limbs," he added.

Food safety expert at Equinox Labs in Mumbai Ashwin Bhadri said, "As a company, Nestle India should be doing these checks regularly, as groundwater quality keeps changing dynamically. Even the central government authorities at the FSSAI should implement stricter and regular checks on groundwater quality used by food and beverage companies. Currently, FSSAI has regulations to conduct only one such test in a year per company, which is abysmally less."

Maggi noodles are manufactured by Nestle India at factories in Goa, Uttarakhand, Mysore, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka. While in Maharashtra lead levels were found to be below 2.5 ppm, in Tamilnadu and Uttar Pradesh the levels are higher.