India capital bans Nestle noodles

Lead Scare

Delhi

India's capital banned the sale of Nestle instant noodles yesterday after officials said high lead levels were found in packets of the product in two states in a growing food safety scare.

New Delhi's health minister announced the hugely popular snack was banned for 15 days to give Nestle India time to recall and replace tens of thousands of the packets sold in stores throughout the city.

"We have banned the sale of Maggi noodles for 15 days. During this time the company should recall all existing stock and replace it with new stock after all standard checks and procedures," Satyendra Jain told reporters.

Stores across the country stepped up voluntary removal of the product from their shelves yesterday after officials said higher than permissible lead levels were found in packets in Delhi and in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

The Future Group, the country's biggest retailer, said Maggi packet noodles were being removed from its more than 500 stores "for the time being" until results of tests being carried out nationwide were known.

"In the interest of consumer sentiment and concerns we have taken Maggi noodles off the shelves from all our stores for the time being," a Future Group spokesperson said.

"We will wait for more clarity from authorities to take any further course of action."

Stocks of Nestle India, a subsidiary of Swiss-based giant Nestle, dropped more than 11 percent in trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange before closing down just over 9.0 percent on the escalating controversy.

Food inspectors in Uttar Pradesh said late last month they had found high lead levels in two dozen Maggi noodle packets during routine testing, along with flavour enhancer MSG (monosodium glutamate) which is not listed in the ingredients.

The state last weekend filed a criminal complaint against Nestle India over the findings, while a separate petition was filed against Bollywood stars who have advertised the noodles.