"Your Maggi Is Safe," says Nestlé in print ad

The multinational, in a front-page ad in the Delhi edition of the TOI yesterday, announced lab results and subsequent clearance of the much-loved two-minute snack.

'Your Maggi is safe, and has always been' stated a front-page print campaign in The Times of India, Delhi edition, dated October 19, 2015. The relaunch campaign by Nestlé India comes four days after the instant noodle brand cleared the ordered tests by the Bombay High Court.

Highlighting the judgement, the print campaign reads, "Now, 100 per cent of Maggi noodles have cleared additional tests for lead, done by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited labs in India, as ordered by the Honorable High Court of Bombay."

The company used the bright yellow print ad, synonymous with its brand Maggi, to thank its loyal customers and reassure them of its efforts to bring the product back in the market. Earlier, in August this year, the company tactfully launched the "We miss you two" campaign, a three-film campaign, executed by McCann India. It was seen as a step towards crisis management on the communication front.

Nestlé India claims to have cleared over 3,500 tests representing over 200 million packs in both national as well as international accredited laboratories. Moreover, countries including the USA, the UK, Singapore, and Australia have found Maggi manufactured in India safe for consumption.

Trouble erupted for brand Maggi when a Times of India report published on May 16 this year. According to the report, Maggi samples collected in some parts of Uttar Pradesh were found to contain added monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead in excess of the permissible limit. Authorities swung into action and the Lucknow Food Safety and Drug Administration initiated an inquiry and wrote to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in New Delhi, and sought to cancel the license for the noodle brand. The regulator also asked FSSAI to order sampling of the product from across the country to check quality.

Delhi, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Gujarat followed UP's lead. Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu soon followed and placed a temporary ban on Maggi noodles. Goa and Maharashtra, however, gave a clean chit to the product which is under countrywide scrutiny. Legal notices were also served to Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, and Preity Zinta for endorsing Maggi as a healthy snack.

Nestlé recalled the product from the markets in June.

The Bombay High Court, in August, lifted the nationwide ban on Nestlé India's instant noodle brand imposed by food safety regulator FSSAI. The court has asked the company to undergo fresh tests for nine variants of noodles..