Meet Yudhvir Singh Malik, the man who led the nationwide Maggi Ban

Yudhvir Singh Malik, the CEO of Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI), a Haryana cadre IAS officer from the 1983 batch, is the man who took over the list of hundreds of products rejected since 2012 and posted it on the FSSAI website in April this year.

On June 4, a team led by Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke met government officials including Malik and health secretary BP Sharma. Nestle tried hard to convince FSSAI official that Maggi was safe to consume, but FSSAI, which played a major role in this controversy, lashed out the Swiss multinational food and beverage company and imposed a ban on the product. This information was revealed in an Economic Times report.

The decision, however, has been challenged by the FMCG giant Nestle in Bombay High Court.

Yudhvir Singh Malik, considered as a tough taskmaster by his FSSAI colleagues, is the man who assumed charge in October 2014 and just after that FSSAI’s various meetings with overseas delegations have acquired the status of formal engagements. And inter-ministerial meetings have been taking place more frequently, owing to which the office of the regulator has acquired a new energy.

According to Malik’s colleague, "The order issued against Nestle -which reasons out the problems, explains Nestle's grounds of defence and logically details why it is not acceptable -has his (Malik’s) stamp all over. I am sure that he has personally drafted it word by word."

As mentioned in the financial daily, it was after Malik took over the list of hundreds of products rejected since 2012 was drawn up; it was posted on the FSSAI website in April. A clearer regulatory pathway for product approval is being drawn up. A recall mechanism for defective food, drafted in large parts in 2011, has been sent to the World Trade Organisation for its comments and inputs from member countries.

Malik has inherited several labeling wrangles from his predecessors, mostly starting in 2013. These include disputes with imported chocolate brands such as Godiva, Guylian, Lindt and Mars besides liquor makers such as Diageo and Pernod Ricard.

Last month, Malik told stakeholders that it would be unfair to draw a parallel between India's food regulatory t system and those of the US and the European Union (EU) because consumer awareness is higher in those markets.

Besides this, more responsive legal systems overseas compel industry to self-regulate. He also said that Indian consumers tend to be less skeptical than those in more mature markets.