MUMBAI/ZURICH: Nestle said Thursday it is challenging a ban imposed by India on its hugely popular Maggi instant noodles brand after tests showed they contained excessive levels of lead.

Nestle said it had approached the high court in the city of Mumbai seeking a judicial review of a June 5 order from the government's food safety regulator banning the product.

“Nestle India Limited has today approached the Honourable Bombay High Court raising issues of interpretation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2011,” said a statement posted on the company's website.

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

It said it was also challenging a separate order from the state government of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital.

Nestle, which says the noodles are safe to eat, had already announced it was pulling the product from sale when the ban was imposed.

On Thursday it said it would keep the product off store shelves despite the court action.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said last week it was banning the company from producing and selling the noodles after tests by some states found lead levels above statutory limits.

The safety scare is a huge blow to the company, which has been selling its Maggi brand for over three decades in India, and has 80 percent of the country's instant noodle market.

Shares in Nestle India, a subsidiary of Swiss-based giant Nestle, fell more than 9pc on the Bombay Stock Exchange last week as the controversy escalated.

US testing Nestle's Maggi noodles after India recall

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is testing samples of Nestle's Maggi noodles that were recalled from stores across India last week, a spokeswoman for the Swiss food group said on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the Swiss-based company said the United States' FDA was now also looking into the issue.

“We have been made aware that the FDA has taken samples of Maggi noodles manufactured in India from third-party importers' containers for testing, and we have asked the importers to advise us of the outcome of the FDA tests,” the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

Nestle does not import, market or distribute Maggi noodles in the United States, the spokeswoman said. Any Maggi noodle products in U.S. stores are sourced by retailers or imported through third parties, she added.

A spokeswoman for the FDA said the agency was looking into the removal of Maggi noodles from the Indian marketplace but that it was not yet clear whether US products were affected by the recall.

Also read: Nestle withdraws Maggi noodles in India after food scare