With state after state banning Maggi over the presence of lead and 'MSG', Nestle today said it is withdrawing the product from Indian market due to "unfounded confusions" that has affected the consumer trust, but maintained that its noodles are safe for consumption.
Nestle global CEO Paul Bulcke flew in from Switzerland to take stock of the situation following Maggi was banned in states such as Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, among others.
"We felt unfounded reasons resulted in confusion and the trust of consumers was shaken," Bulcke said in a press conference here.
The press conference coincided with the central food safety regulator FSSAI ordering recall of all nine approved variants of Maggi instant noodles from the market, terming them "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption.
Reiterating that the company's instant noodles are safe, Bulcke said: "We apply the same quality standards and methods in the world here in India too. Our tests have found that Maggi is absolutely safe."
He said the company is cooperating with authorities in India by sharing tests methodologies to find how lead was found beyond permissible limits in tests done by authorities in its efforts to "bring Maggi on the shelves as soon as possible".
The company declined to share details of how many batches and packets it is withdrawing from the market and how much it would affect its sales in India.
"Our main focus is to win the trust of customer," Bulcke said.
Late last evening Nestle India decided to take Maggi off the shelves after a controversy erupted over its contents, prompting several states to ban the 'Two-Minute' noodles.
