Maggi banned in Delhi for 15 days

Top officials from Nestle India met with Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Kumar Jain and other senior officials of the Delhi government after they were summoned by the government.

After the meeting, Jain said the government was not satisfied with their responses.

"We are not satisfied by their response,"  Jain said.

Speaking on the ban, he said: "The govt has decided to ban the sale of Maggi for next 15 days."

He said the government has directed Nestle India  to withdraw stock of the noodles in the next 15 days.

Jain said: "They have been asked to bring in fresh stocks in Delhi after properly testing them."

In a major setback for Nestle India, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has ordered all states and Union Territories to test all variants of Maggi noodles.

FSSAI has also stated that celebrities endorsing the brand can be held accountable and face upto Rs 10 lakh as fine.

According to reports, results of the tests have to be submitted by June 5.

In fact amid a nationwide panic over Maggi Noodles containing harmful ingredients like lead and mono-sodium glutamate or MSG, shares in Nestle dropped nearly 10 per cent in morning trade on Wednesday.

Many other states said they are now testing Maggi, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Even Kerala has ordered a pullout of Maggi noodles from government-run outlets.

The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation said the ban has been imposed "in the light of reports on the presence of some chemicals which are hazardous to human health."

In Bihar, acting on a petition filed by a lawyer, a court has directed that an FIR be registered against Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta, who have featured in Maggi noodle advertisements.

Earlier, Nestle India had claimed that extensive testing reveals no excess lead in Maggi Noodles.