Nestle withdraws Maggi noodles, still says safe

Nestle India early on Friday said it was withdrawing Maggi noodles in the country amid nation-wide scrutiny over more-than-permissible limits of lead, but continued to maintain it was safe and that it would be back on store shelves soon.

"Maggi noodles are completely safe and have been trusted in India for over 30 years. The trust of our consumers and the safety of our products is our first priority," the company said in a statement in the early hours of Friday.

"Unfortunately, recent developments and 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, despite the product being safe," it said.

"We promise that the trusted Maggi Noodles will be back in the market as soon as the current situation is clarified."

Some governments like in Gujarat, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir had banned Maggi for 15-30 days and several others had called for tests on the popular noodles after a batch in a small town in Uttar Pradesh was allegedly found to contain higher-than-permissible levels of lead.

Following the concerns, a host of retailers -- from neighbourhood mom-and-pop shops to larger ones like Big Bazaar and WalMart -- withdrew it from their shelves.