Days after yoga guru Baba Ramdev made his debut in the instant noodles business with Patanjali Atta Noodles, Food Safety and Regulatory Authority of India officials said the noodles have not been approved by the agency.
The Patanjali Atta Noodles packets display an “FSSAI licence number”. “Patanjali Atta Noodles has not got product approvals from us. The matter has been brought to our notice. We are pursuing it,” an Indian Express report quoted Ashish Bahuguna, FSSAI chairperson who also holds additional charge as its CEO, as saying.
Asked about Patanjali noodles packets at the Monday launch flaunting “FSSAI licence number 10014012000266”, Bahuguna said: “How can licence be given for a product that has not been approved? Licences are issued by the state government to manufacture certain items. But approvals for (non-standardised) products are given by us. That approval was not taken. I do not know how the licence was procured.”
The report also quoted Ramdev’s spokesman S K Tijarawala that he am not aware of the technical details and currently there was nobody available give him the clarifications.
FSSAI sources said that noodles is not a standardised product, which means FSSAI is the sole authority mandated to grant product approval. The added quoting sources that Patanjali Ayurved, the FMCG venture that Ramdev promotes, has not applied for approvals for the noodles yet.
Responding to the allegations, Patanjali group rubbished the ‘misinformation’ spread against it, and said that the noodles are perfectly safe.
“We have followed all the rules of the FSSAI and have not violated any of their terms. In context with misleading news published today in newspapers regarding Patanjali Atta Noodles, we categorically state that we have followed all FSSAI rules and guidelines and committed no violation,” SK Tijarawala, the brand spokesman said.