New Delhi: After Delhi, four more states — Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand — on Thursday banned the sale of Maggi noodles, as the popular instant snack came under mounting scrutiny over food safety concerns.
The Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand governmenta 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. The four states also ordered the noodle manufacturers Nestle India to immediately withdraw the stocks.
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are awaiting results of tests of samples of the noodles taken from the respective states before taking any action.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh and Puducherry are testing the samples of the instant noodles to check for the presence of MSG.
Apart from Maggi, the Gujarat government also tested one sample each of instant noodles of Sunfeast and S K Foods and has banned the latter for a month as high lead content of 4 PPM was found in it. Delhi had on Wednesday banned sale of the food item for 15 days.
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Maggi stock withdrawn: Walmart and Metro AG have withdrawn Nestle’s Maggi noodles from their wholesale stores in India in the wake of food safety issues pertaining to the brand. The move follows country-wide probe against the food brand for alleged presence of lead and taste enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) beyond permissible limits. “Given our utmost focus on ‘food safety' and ongoing concerns around this product, we have withdrawn the Maggi 2-minute noodles,” Walmart said.
Nepal tests Indian maggi: Nepal is testing Nestle’s Maggi noodles imported from India for lead content and may impose a ban on it, officials said. Officials of Department of Commerce and Supply Management said that it would put ban on sales and import of Maggi in Nepal if the laboratory test shows the noodle is ‘inedible.’ “We will put a ban on the brand if the test result confirms presence of higher-level of lead,” said Hari Narayan Belbase, director of Department of Commerce and Supply Management.
