Tripura bans Maggi, Meghalaya sends samples for testing

Tripura has banned Maggi noodles, while Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh governments have sent samples for testing, an official release said on Saturday.

Nestle's Maggi was banned in the state on Friday night following an order by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) imposing a country-wide ban on it.

Still, all categories of Nestle's food items, including Maggi noodles, were available in the markets on Saturday.

"Following the order of the FSSAI, the Tripura government has banned Nestle's Maggi noodles in the state with immediate effect," Tripura's health and family welfare department said in a statement.

The statement said the Tripura government had sent the samples of the noodles to Pune-based central food laboratory.

According to separate official releases from the states, the Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh governments have also sent samples to Guwahati-based Public Health Laboratory.

In Dimapur, the Nagaland government asked people not to buy Maggi noodles till further orders.

The directorate of health and family welfare directed all medical and food safety officers to carry out inspections and collect samples of Maggi noodles and send them to the lab for analysis.

The Assam government on Friday banned the sale of Maggi Xtra - chicken noodles marketed by Nestle India in the state - for 30 days.