Chikkaballapur, Jun 17 (DHNS): The noodle packets of Maggi, found to be containing lead more than the permissible level, will be utilised as fuel at ACC cement factory in Tondebhavi in Gauribidanur taluk of Chikkaballapur district.

The officials of the cement plant told Deccan Herald that the packets of instant food rejected by consumers or those which have exceeded their shelf life were being incinerated at their factory for the past five years. “Similarly, the packets of the banned Maggi noodle will also be used as fuel in the factory,” the officials said.

They said that the factory follows all the precautions to ensure that the incineration does not harm the environment and hence the local people need not fear about it.

However, sources at the Nestle India unit in Nanjangud, Mysuru district, said that the stock of the noodles would be transported to a cement plan in Tumakuru district for incineration.

The company has decided to destroy the product valued at Rs 320 crore, following a ban by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

The Nanjangud unit is a production centre and sources say it will take some time for the stocks to be transported. “The stock will probably be shifted to Tumakuru by train,” said sources. But, when contacted, the officials of a cement factory in Tumakuru district said that they won’t use it as fuel in their plant.