(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
A food safety scare in India has resulted in a ban on sales of instant noodles after some were found to contain dangerous levels of lead.
Tests by food safety inspectors have shown lead level in samples of Nestle's Maggi noodles to be 17 times above the permissible limit.
Nestle India has rejected the claims but the Indian government has ordered a ban on the sale of the product.
Abbie O'Brien reports.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
Instant noodles are a cheap and much loved snack everywhere, and India is no exception.
Promoted by Bollywood actors and selling for around 25 Australian cents a packet, Nestle's Maggi noodles have long been the favoured brand.
But perhaps not for much longer.
Food safety inspectors have filed a criminal complaint against Nestle's Indian arm, after tests revealed some packets of their instant noodles contained unsafe levels of lead.
Excessive intake of lead is known to cause damage to the kidneys, bones and nervous system.
India's Health minister, Satyendra Kumar Jain, has ordered a ban on the sale of the noodles.
"This morning some officials of Maggi came to meet us. They had given their submission, but we are not entirely satisfied with it. The government has banned Maggi for 15 days and the company is instructed to remove all of its stock from across Delhi".
Mr Jain says the permissible amount of lead in noodles is 2.5 parts per million, and the average amount of lead found in the samples was 3.5 parts per million.
Nestle India has rejected the findings, but has been given 15 days to remove all faulty stock from the market.
The tests, carried out in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, have also shown elevated levels of chemical flavour enhancer MSG.
But Nestle says it does not add MSG to its noodles and will carry out its own independent tests.
The federal government says the Food Security and Standard Authority of India will be testing more Maggi samples across India.
Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan says the Authority's report will be matched with the claims made by the company and its brand ambassadors.
He says if the claims are found to be untrue, legal proceedings will commence.
"It will be checked if what they are saying and what they have said about the ingredients and qualities of Maggi is substantial and true. If their claims differ from the results we find, then definitely action will be taken against them too."
Bollywood actors, who promote the noodle brand, are also in hot water.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan is one of the three Bollywood actors who has endorsed the product.
He says he has not received any notice from Nestle but will cooperate with Indian law.
"As soon as I get the notice, my lawyer will look through it. We will follow the law of the land and they shall have my fullest cooperation in it."
In a statement Nestle Australia has told SBS that Nestle Maggi Noodles sold in Australia are made in Malaysia.
It says internal and external tests of the product have shown lead levels to be well within permissible limits.
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