Dubai, June 7
Bahrain has imposed a ban on Indian manufactured Maggi noodles of Nestle, media reported on Sunday.

The move follows a health ministry-ordered seizure of hundreds of packets of Maggi noodles, which reportedly found their way on to shop shelves in Bahrain through local traders, Gulf Daily News reported.

Maggi noodles are at the centre of a health scare in India after laboratory tests revealed they contained lead at levels far higher than the legal maximum.

Last week, health officials cleared the noodle brand for sale in Bahrain on the basis that most Maggi products available here are made in Malaysia.

Samples taken from the market and tested in the laboratory had also come back negative for high levels of lead.

The ministry has now ordered heightened vigilance at the country's ports to ensure that no more of the Indian-manufactured noodles enter Bahrain, Maryam Al Jalahma, primary care and public health assistant under-secretary, said.

"Action was immediately taken by health inspectors to withdraw Indian-origin Maggi noodles from shops," she said.

"Our move comes after health authorities in India announced a ban on the noodles, since laboratory tests showed that the noodles contained lead at levels far higher than the legal maximum."

"As a precaution, samples of Maggi noodles manufactured in Malaysia, the main source for Bahrain market, were subjected to laboratory analysis. Results revealed the safety of such products for human consumption," she added.

Nestle Middle East has issued a statement to stress the safety of its products.

"All our Maggi products in the Middle East are safe and compliant with the highest quality standards," Nestle Middle East media relations manager Lynn Al Khatib said.

"Food safety is Nestle's number one priority."

"We do more food testing than any other entity in the world and have many stringent controls to guarantee safety -- starting from the raw materials we use, throughout processing to packaging," the manager added.

Goa bans Maggi until further orders

 Maggi noodles will be banned in Goa from Monday, as it was not proper to take risks with people's lives, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters in Mapusa, 10 km from Panaji, Parsekar said the decision to ban Maggi noodles was taken because "I feel it is not proper on my part to take risks with people's lives".

"Maggi will be banned from Goa from Monday until further orders," said Parsekar, who on Friday, along with the state Food Drugs Authority, had given the popular snack the green signal.

"Earlier, I was of the opinion to allow it to continue, but the way reports from other states are coming up, I feel it is not proper on my part to take risks with the lives of the natives," Parsekar said, announcing the ban.

Two tests conducted by the state FDA, which had given a clean chit to Maggi on both occasions, were rejected by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which called the tests "inappropriate".

On FSSAI's directions, a Karnataka-based government laboratory will now conduct tests on Maggi manufactured in Nestle's unit in Bicholim sub-district, 30 km from Panaji.

Many states have already banned Maggi after tests showed the noodles contained more than stipulated levels of MSG and lead.

Karnataka too bans manufacture, sale of Maggi

Karnataka on Sunday became the latest state to ban manufacture and sale of Nestle's Maggi noodles following a central food watchdog directive.

"The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directed us to temporarily stop Nestle India from manufacturing or selling its noodles, including variants, in the state as a precautionary measure to ensure public health," state Health Minister U.T. Khader told IANS.

Though preliminary results of tests conducted at a private lab here indicated that the levels of lead in the noodles were below the permissible limit, the state health department advised stakeholders to refrain from marketing, distributing and selling the noodles, and also asked the public not to consume it.

"We have also directed the company (Nestle) to withdraw its Maggi stocks from all stores and retail formats across the state. Stringent action will be taken against offenders," Khader said.

The Swiss food and beverages multinational has four production units to make noodles, including a captive plant at Nanjungud near Mysuru, about 180 km from here.

"We will consider further action against the company after we get the final test report from the central food laboratory in Kolkata," Khadar said.

After dithering initially, the health department on June 1 picked up samples of Maggi noodles from its manufacturing units and retail outlets, for tests by the state-run Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) at Mysuru and two private laboratories in Bengaluru.

When CFTRI declined to test the samples, citing jurisdiction and rules governing it, the health department asked the private labs to ascertain the lead and MSG (monosodium glutamate) content in Maggi noodles.

"We are waiting for test reports on MSG content in Maggi from the private labs, which is expected on Monday. If the tests confirm that it's harmful for consumption, we will totally ban it (Maggi). We will also advise eateries to remove it from menu," Khader reiterated.

According to the regulator FSSAI, the multinational company violated three mandatory conditions by having lead in excess of the permissible levels of 2.5 ppm (parts per million), misleading labelling information on the product label and selling Maggi oats masala noodles without its approval.

The private labs are Robust Materials Technology Ltd and TUV SUD labs, accredited to the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).