'Live' beetles found in Cerelac in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: In the midst of the controvery over the safety of popular noodles Maggi, Nestle India seems to be headed for more trouble with a city couple complaining of the presence of live beetles inside the pack of baby food they purchased.

Talking to reporters, Food and Safety department official Kathiravan said "the samples were collected and will be sent to labs for testing. After that, we will decide on filing a complaint."

An email message sent to Nestle, as also several calls, did not evoke any response.

Sriram, father of the one-year-old baby, said he purchased 'Cerelac' on Sunday from a pharmacy in Perur in the city.

His wife Preethi said she had opened it yesterday and reportedly saw live beetles inside the packet, which had May 20, 2016 as the expiry date.

Following this, she informed her husband who preferred to file a complaint with Food and Safety department located in Race Course Road near here.

Nestle's popular noodle Maggi was banned by central food safety regulator FSSAI due to presence of lead and taste enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) beyond permissable limits.

Yesterday, Nestle India had said it was in the process of destroying Maggi instant noodles worth Rs 320 crore after withdrawing the stock from markets, factories and distribution networks.