Bengaluru: Maggi’s unpalatable facts hit sales

BENGALURU: Many inhabitants of the IT hub, have childhood memories of slurping quick and easy Maggi noodles as a handy snack or even a makeshift meal. But the recent controversy over these noodles containing a high content of lead and mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) – a taste enhancer, which is reportedly detrimental to health, has broken many hearts.

Of late, the sale of Maggi noodles has fallen drastically in the garden city, according to the shop managers. Another fallout is that Nestle shares have been tumbling by over 10 per cent. Here’s what Bangalore citizens have to say.

Sudhakar, a manager at a super market at Koramangala admitted, “Ever since the controversy broke out, the sales of Maggi noodles have been severely affected to the extent that “We have not been able to sell a single Maggi noodle packet for the last two days.”

Many supermarket managers say they have stopped purchasing Maggi noodles from the distributors and manufacturers. Rashid, a shop manager at HSR Layout confirms, “The sale of Maggi has come down by 70-80 per cent.  So, we have completely stopped purchasing them. Today, consumers are very aware and clued-in and they are not willing to take any chances with their health. Yes, we still have our old stock, but if things continue this way, the money that we had invested in buying them will go down the drain!”

Echoing this, a shop owner at Koramangala adds, “Since there has been no demand in the last two days now, I have removed the stock from my shop. Besides, I also owe a responsibility to my customers.”

Youngsters, kids and techies who struggle to manage their time, were the prime consumers  but now after the negative reports they have shifted loyalties away from the easy-to-prepare  Maggi noodles.

Rajeev Srivastav, an IT employee at ITPL describes how, “Maggi was my daily breakfast. But now with the exposure of the level of MSG, I have shifted to other brands and substituted them for Maggi, although with a lot of skepticism.”

Lead could stunt growth, prove fatal: Experts

With Nestle’s Maggi noodles being in news for wrong reasons, city-based health experts warn that consumption of lead was harmful and long term use could even be fatal.

“Consumption of any product which contains high levels of lead will cause constipation and abnormalities in the brain. Long and continuous use can also cause tumor,” warned Dr Ravindra B.S., Chief Medical Gastroenterologist BGS Global Hospitals. It affects the body at so many levels. It can cause stunted growth, irritability and memory loss among children. Blood pressures can also rise and lead can cause bone damages as well, he added.

“It takes months and even years for its effect to come up in children. But the main effects are both mental and physical. Children suffer loss in developmental skill, low IQ, loss of appetite, memory loss and insomnia,” said Dr Ajith Benedict Rayan, Medical Director, HOSMAT Hospital. The short term effects include vomiting, nausea and irritability, he added. Experts warn that a build up of lead in body over a period of time can even prove fatal.