“In-house laboratory tests of 15 brands at CERS revealed most health claims to be deceptive~

Ahmedabad, 16th October 2012

The rapid permeation of instant noodles into Indian dietary habits, over the two decades, has been exponential and legendary. Today, instant noodles has become a staple in just about every child’s diet that discerning parents vainly try to get rid of, and also occasionally indulge in themselves. In view of the raging ‘instant noodles’ phenomenon, Consumer Education & Research Society (CERS), the nation’s leading consumer organization dedicated to protecting the interests of the Indian consumer, recently tested and brought out shocking facts about the nutrition levels of 15 popular instant noodles brands across the country. In a series of tests conducted at CERS’ in-house laboratory that investigated 15 instant noodle brands for some important nutrition parameters.

The fifteen brands tested  included brands like Maggi, Top Ramen, Knorr, Ching’s Secret, Sunfeast Yippee!, Foodles, Tasty Treat and Wai Wai X-press. The results were shocking. None of the brands were able to substantiate their tall claims of being healthy snacking option when interpreted against Food Standards Agency (FSA) of UK standards for fats and sodium. Some of the common findings for most of the samples tested included high level of sodium salts, significantly low fibre content, high amount of fats and several other shocking factors. The brands that claimed ‘Healthy’, ‘wholesome’, ‘enriched with proteins and iron’ and ‘full of fibre’, were refuted by the test findings as going way above the safe limit of several harmful elements. (Please see annexure for Key Findings)Read More »