New Delhi joins ban on beloved instant noodles

MUMBAI, India – India’s capital on Wednesday banned the sale of a beloved instant noodle after tests determined samples of the product contained higher than legal levels of lead.

New Delhi joined more than a dozen Indian states that have either recalled or ordered tests in recent days on Maggi noodles, a popular brand manufactured by the Swiss conglomerate Nestle, after samples were shown to contain high amounts of lead as well as monosodium glutamate, or MSG, an additive not listed on its packaging.

The Delhi government asked Nestle to withdraw all Maggi noodles from stores in the capital within 15 days, the Press Trust of India reported. At least four additional states – Punjab in the north and Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana in the south – ordered the testing of samples.

Although there were no immediate reports of Indians falling ill after consuming the product, many stores were pulling the familiar red-and-yellow packages off their shelves as a preemptive measure.

Billions of Maggi packets are sold every year in more than 100 countries, but perhaps nowhere are they cherished more than in India, where the piping-hot, ready-in-two-minutes noodles are a comfort food that spans generations and regions.

“We call it the third staple of India. There’s rice, wheat and Maggi,” said Kiran Khalap, co-founder of Chlorophyll, a brand consultancy.

“It’s something that children have grown up with, students have grown up with and bachelors, especially, have grown up with. To suddenly have this news, it’s like a very trusted and close friend betraying you.”