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Nestle Will Destroy 27,000 Tonnes Of Maggi Noodles -- That's Half The Weight Of The Titanic

You Won't Believe Just How Much Maggi Will Be Destroyed By Nestle
Nestle 'Maggi' instant noodles are photographed in a shop in the Indian capital New Delhi on June 3, 2015. India June 3, 2015, tested packets nationwide of Nestle India's instant noodles after high lead levels were found in batches in the country's north amid a mounting food-safety scare, an official said. AFP PHOTO / Chandan KHANNA (Photo credit should read Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images)
CHANDAN KHANNA via Getty Images
Nestle 'Maggi' instant noodles are photographed in a shop in the Indian capital New Delhi on June 3, 2015. India June 3, 2015, tested packets nationwide of Nestle India's instant noodles after high lead levels were found in batches in the country's north amid a mounting food-safety scare, an official said. AFP PHOTO / Chandan KHANNA (Photo credit should read Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images)

Nestlé India is going to consign 27,420 tonnes of Maggi in cement furnaces. That's half the weight of the Titanic. Or equal to a modern medium-size cargo ship at full capacity.

But first, 10,000 trucks will bring the huge quantity of Maggi to warehouses from 35 lakh outlets across India.

Nestlé has never done anything on such a mind-boggling scale before. The total worth of noodles that will be destroyed is Rs 320 crore, and process will take 40 days if all five cement furnaces that Nestlé has tied up with run at full capacity, the company said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"The actual recall process from the market is an immesely complex process and a mammoth activity, the largest in the history of Nestlé," said Luca Fichera, executive vice-president (supply chain), Nestle.

Most Maggi dealers fall under the unorganized category, making withdrawals harder. Nestlé's 50,000 channel partners and traders are working to implement the recall, but less than half the outlets that sell Maggi are under its direct control.

Nestlé supplies to 1.5 million retailers directly, but that's a fraction of the total number of outlets that stock the product. They are serviced by wholesalers, and small distributors.

Nestlé will spend much more than the cost of noodles. "There will be additional costs to take into account. For example, bringing back stock from the market, transporting the stock to destruction points, destruction costs, etc. The final figure will be confirmed at a later date," the company said in the filing.

Nestlé has tied up with large warehouses to store the huge quantity of Maggi headed their way as part of the recall. Over 11,500 tonnes of Maggi has so far been recalled, and 169 tonnes destroyed in furnaces.

Maggi noodles was banned by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, India's food regulator, after tests showed that the product had excess levels of lead and monosodium glutamate.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.