Nestle's Maggi Controversy In India: If MSG Is Unhealthy, Why Doesn't Everyone In China Have Headache?

It is clear now that the dispute between Nestlé and India’s food authority (the FSSAI) is rooted in a technicality. Both sides agree that levels of lead in a packet of Maggi noodles measured as a single unit fall within the permissible limit. 

The FSSAI case is that the “tastemaker” sachet, the seasoning added to the noodles, breaches the 2.5 parts per million ceiling when tested by itself. Nestlé argues that since the tastemaker is never consumed by itself, and the instructions on noodle packets make clear it is to be eaten in tandem with the noodles, the two should be taken as one product.