Nestle India bows down to pressure, takes Maggi off shelves

Facing immense pressure and ban in five states, Nestle India has decided to take Maggi noodles off the shleves across the country. The product has been under scrutiny for high lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG) content.

Asserting that the product was "completely safe", the company in a statement said, "Trust of our consumer and the safety of our product is our first priority. Unfortunately, recent developments and unfounded concerns about the product have led to an environment of confusion for the consumer, to such an extent that we have decided to withdraw the product off the shelves. We promise that the trusted MAGGI Noodles will be back in the market as soon as the current situation is clarified," it added.

Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand have so far banned the sale of the two minute noodles after concerns were raised over presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead beyond permissible levels in the product.

The Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand governments banned the sale of Nestle's instant noodles for three months while in Gujarat the ban will be effective for one month after some samples of the food had failed lab tests, officials said in Chennai, Dehradun and Gandhinagar.