After Maggi, are Starbucks, Kellogs next? FSSAI new blacklist targets many others

So it’s not just Nestle that’s been selling a variant of Maggi noodles without regulatory approval. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has rejected approvals for 500 products as of 30 April 2015 and they include about 32 products from Tata Starbucks and a cereal product from Kellog’s, says a report in The Indian Express today. According to the report, a list of the blacklisted products have been handed over to the state food safety commissioners who attended a FSSAI meeting last week and should be kept under check. Apart from products of Starbucks and Kellog’s Special K Red Berries cereal, the others in the list include some of Venky’s chicken products, Ranbaxy’s Revital Capsule, Revital Senior tablets and Revital Women Tablets and also Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ new Anofer & new Xtraglo tablets. The complete list of the products rejected is available on the Indian Express site and the reason for the rejection of the approval has been cited as “high levels of sugar, caramel, salt or heavy metals, caffeine and iron fillings”, the report said citing sources. [caption id=“attachment_2288030” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Reuters[/caption] The Starbucks products in the list are mainly syrups, sauces and powders. Some of the company’s products in the list are Panna Cotta Pudding, Dark Caramel Sauce with Natural Flavour, International Chocolate Drink Mix, Chestnut Flavoured Syrup and Coffee Frappuccino Flavoured Syrup. Clearly, blacklisting of a product does not mean the product is intended for a recall or any such drastic measures. As the report says, Starbucks is still using the products, like Frapuccino syrup in its products. The company has said the rejection of the approval has been on technical grounds and not on safety grounds. The authority has also expressed displeasure that some of these products are still being produced, distributed and sold. But as the FSSAI is making its presence felt through rejection of product approvals and imposing ban on sale of certain products, food companies are also gearing up to meet the challenges. A report in The Economic Times yesterday said the companies are directing their executives to take steps to ensure everything - “from packaging, labelling, ingredients and seasonings to product testing” - do comply with the regulatory requirements. They are even making provisions for product recalls, the report said. A CEO of a multinational foods company has said the Maggi controversy has been eye-opener for the industry. “We are all going back to basics -getting product approvals right, checking combination of seasoning and the product claims made on the package.We are also now going to keep the regulators briefed on the same,” the CEO has been quoted as saying in the report. Product approvals seem to the biggest issue. According to the Indian Express report, companies start selling the product even when the approval is pending with the FSSAI. A case in point could be Maggi Oats Masala Noodles, which the FSSAI asked Nestle to recall after it began selling the product despite not having a regulatory nod. One of the three violations highlighted by the FSSAI regarding the product was “release of a non-standardised food product in the market, viz. “Maggi Oats Masala Noodles with Tastemaker” without risk assessment and grant of product approval”.