India’s food safety regulator has ordered CG Foods India to discontinue certain Wai Wai-branded snack products after inspectors found floor-collected broken noodles being reprocessed into bhujia without heat treatment.
India has stepped up its food safety crackdown, with authorities ordering a company owned by Nepalese billionaire Binod Chaudhary to discontinue certain products after an inspection found unhygienic practices at one of its factories.
The action was taken against CG Foods India, part of Chaudhary-led CG Corp Global, whose Wai Wai brand is widely known for its instant noodles. The company’s Rajasthan facility was found using floor-collected, broken noodles in the production of two Wai Wai-branded bhujia products, according to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The regulator said inspectors found that the factory was “re-processing floor-collected broken noodles into bhujia without heat treatment”. Bhujia is a popular fried snack widely sold across India.
The FSSAI also seized around 32,000 kg of stock from the facility and found 1,925 boxes of expired finished products. Samples from the factory have been collected for testing, while legal proceedings have been initiated against the food business operator. CG Foods India did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
India widens food safety crackdown
The action against CG Foods comes amid an intensified nationwide focus on food safety, hygiene and product labelling. Authorities have recently taken action against major food and beverage companies as well as restaurant chains over alleged violations.
More from BusinessThe broader crackdown has included inspections and enforcement measures involving brands such as Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Diageo.
Last week, Indian authorities also raided an illegal operation in Mumbai that allegedly altered expiry dates and nutritional information on food products manufactured by major companies, including PepsiCo and Nestlé, before exporting them to other countries.
The latest action against CG Foods highlights the increasing scrutiny of food manufacturing facilities in India, particularly over hygiene standards, expired products, processing practices and labelling compliance.
Wai Wai maker CG Foods under scrutiny
CG Foods India is part of CG Corp Global, the business conglomerate controlled by Binod Chaudhary, Nepal’s only billionaire. Chaudhary has built a major consumer-food business around the Wai Wai brand, which has a significant presence in India and international markets.
The FSSAI action puts renewed focus on the compliance standards followed by large packaged-food manufacturers as Indian regulators intensify inspections across the food industry.
