Sunday, June 21, 2015

The last Maggi: The hysteria and hypocrisy of India’s noodle ban...

A few days back I consumed the last packet of Maggi noodles, allegedly infused with lead and MSG, as per tests conducted by our food authorities, many of whom we hear are quite serious about their work. Given their diligence, maybe, someday in the distant future poor and underfed children across India will not die or be frequently hospitalised due to acute food poisoning in school meals that are managed by the government.

Maybe someday in the distant future the street food I often consume on the streets of Delhi and anywhere else in India will be free of faecal matter, pesticides, insecticides, contaminated water and bacteria. My guess is that such food safety standards will not be witnessed either by me or Prime Minister Narendra Modi in our lifetimes, unless we decide to settle down in Europe.

Given all the dirty food circulating around us, it was a bit of shock, as it must have been for countless others, when Maggi noodles were banned. After all, Maggi can easily be added to the list of things that Indians, rich and poor, obsess about – Bollywood, cricket and politics, to name a few. It has a cultural, historical, traditional zing to it.

I recall my college days, more than two decades ago: I owned a second hand scooter and ate Maggi. I could afford both without begging my parents for more pocket money. The contamination issue was a shocker too. It was unexpected. It would perhaps have been more apt to ban the noodles and also Cola, French Fries, potato chips and MacDonald burgers for causing obesity among countless children addicted to junk. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. African supermarket pulls Maggi noodles
  2. Why The Maggi Affair has angered and enthralled India...
  3. Maggi withdraws all noodles in India after state bans and lead scare...
  4. Instant noodle sales top 100 billion a year...
  5. Teen munches 30 miles of noodles each year because ...
  6. Panchayat leader in India blames chowmein for rapes! WTF!
  7. How to eat noodles! (This makes me hungry!!)

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