Maggi noodles ordered off India's shelves due to lead level

E-Paper | June 13, 2026

NEW DELHI: Indian shopkeepers withdrew a popular brand of instant noodle from their shelves Wednesday after tests revealed the snack contained lead above permissible levels.

At least 10 Indian states have either ordered the withdrawal of Maggi noodles from shops or ordered the testing of noodle samples, prior to taking action against the manufacturer, Nestle India Ltd.

Maggi sales have plunged in India since laboratory tests showed the noodles contained lead and the chemical flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate, or MSG, at levels higher than the legal minimum.

On Tuesday, the Delhi city government said that it had conducted tests of 13 samples of Maggi noodles and 10 of these were found to be unsafe with lead exceeding the permissible level.

The Delhi government decided to file a case against the company and was Wednesday meeting officials of Nestle India, a subsidiary of Swiss-based Nestle SA. Nestle India said the noodles were safe to eat and lead levels were well within limits.

“We regularly monitor all our raw material for lead, including testing by accredited laboratories which have consistently shown levels in Maggi Noodles to be within permissible limits,” Nestle India said in a statement released earlier in the week.

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Abdulla hussain

Jun 03, 2015 12:59pm

Good work, Do we have such checks in Pakistan.

Recommend 0

rehan

Jun 03, 2015 01:15pm

Good initiative by India. I believe Maggi's popularity in Pakistan has nose dived too due to it's artificial and harmful ingredients. It should be pulled off the shelves here too.

Recommend 0

Aib

Jun 03, 2015 01:23pm

Hmm it was my late night meal during my college time. will miss you maggi

Recommend 0

Sarah

Jun 03, 2015 02:38pm

@Abdulla hussain Did you ever care to check out food inspection raid records in Pakistan instead of asking others for the sake of saying something? The grass is always greener on the other side.

Recommend 0

Agnos

Jun 03, 2015 02:39pm

We need proper checking for all these pseudo-foods - other than instant noodles, aerated drinks, wafers, comes to mind. Specially because children get hooked on to them. It is our prime duty to ensure our children are not feed wrong foods because of our negligence and ignorance.

Recommend 0

netinger

Jun 03, 2015 02:49pm

this is good move by india to control inflation of foreign goods

Recommend 0

Delhi wala.

Jun 03, 2015 06:38pm

what about the lead level present in Delhi air, one of the most polluted cities in the world, in fact the most polluted capital city, two days back there is an article in TOI about the micro-particle content in Delhi air which at 1000cpm is the highest in the world. It also said that of the 4.4 million students in the metro Delhi area, about half of the students have irreversible lung damage. When this has to be addressed, much dangerous than Maggi issue, Just can't escape from it.

Recommend 0

Harmony-1

Jun 03, 2015 09:56pm

@Delhi wala. - If not already done then only lead free petrol should be made available and a converters fitted in cars for lead free petrol to be used.

Recommend 0

Northern Lights

Jun 04, 2015 12:53am

@Harmony-1 Exactly..!

Recommend 0

Christie

Jun 04, 2015 03:10am

There's nothing wrong with levels higher than the legal minimum. There is everything wrong with levels higher than the legal maximum. Just a thought.

Recommend 0

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