Indo Nissin Foods Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of Japan’s Nissin Foods Holdings, on Monday announced that it has decided to withdraw its ‘Top Ramen’ brand of instant noodles from the market until it gets clearance from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

This is the third instant noodle brand to go off the shelves in the last month. After Nestle India had to recall its Maggi noodles, Hindustan Unilever decided to discontinue production and sale of its ‘Knorr’ brand until the FSSAI approved its product application.

Indo Nissin position In a statement, Gautam Sharma, Managing Director, Indo Nissin Foods, said: “On June 8, FSSAI had come out with an advisory on product safety testing of all instant noodle products in India. At that time, we had sought clarification from FSSAI since Top Ramen product approval is pending with the regulator. They have requested us to withdraw the product until they give the product approval. We hope to get the approval soon from FSSAI and be back in the market.”

The Bengaluru-based company maintained that its product has been extensively tested in recent weeks after product safety concerns arose in the instant noodle category. The company said that it had tested its product at two FSSAI-accredited laboratories and shared the results with the regulator. “While many Top Ramen samples have been tested by various State FDAs across India, only in two cases slightly higher lead levels have been found in the tastemaker. We are meeting the State FDAs and sharing our test results with them as well as seeking a re-test,” Sharma added.

He said the company is open to help all State FDAs and the FSSAI to address safety concerns and complete the testing process. Top Ramen was launched in the market about 24 years ago and is available in variants such as atta noodles and cup noodles.

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