--- description: The hugely popular Maggi noodles were found to have seven times the permissable lead levels title: Maggi Noodles Banned in India's Capital for High Lead Content image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt051262c35bca0b3e/698852c8524fc02a15df2ecf/maggi-noodles.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Maggi Noodles Banned in India's Capital for High Lead Content ## Video: Should I Eat Canned Tuna? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Canned Tuna?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KNXhPqjc.m3u8) (1:30)  _Published 2015-03-25. It’s not the sexiest fish in the sea. But tuna—even once it’s caught, frozen, thawed, cooked, chopped and canned—still gets a nod of approval from most of our experts._ by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 3, 2015 2:32 PM CUT  An open packet of Maggi 2-Minute Noodles, manufactured by Nestle India Ltd., are arranged for a photograph inside a general store in Mumbai, on June 2, 2015. An open packet of Maggi 2-Minute Noodles, manufactured by Nestle India Ltd., are arranged for a photograph inside a general store in Mumbai, on June 2, 2015.Dhiraj Singh—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 3, 2015 2:32 PM CUT A hugely popular type of Indian noodle has been [banned](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-32987682?OCID=twitterasia "undefined") in Delhi after high levels of lead were found in batches of the snack. The sale of Maggi noodles has been banned for 15 days in the Indian capital and the state of Uttar Pradesh amid the widening food-safety scare, and several major grocery chains have taken the country’s favorite noodle off their shelves, BBC reports. Laboratory tests on two dozen packets of the noodles in northern India found nearly seven times the permissible limit of lead. Maggi is a subsidiary of Nestle with annual sales of 15 billion rupees, or $235 million. Nestle’s “two minute” advertising campaign in India has made the noodles a household name among students, and some of India’s biggest Bollywood stars appear in Maggi advertisements. Nestle said in a recent statement that it carefully tests its products and had found Maggi noodles “safe to eat.” \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-32987682?OCID=twitterasia "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3907030/maggi-noodles-lead/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3907030/maggi-noodles-lead/"},"headline":"Maggi Noodles Banned in India's Capital for High Lead Content","datePublished":"2015-06-03T14:32:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:51:56.880Z","description":"The hugely popular Maggi noodles were found to have seven times the allowable lead levels","url":"https://time.com/3907030/maggi-noodles-lead/","keywords":["India","nestle"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt051262c35bca0b3e/698852c8524fc02a15df2ecf/maggi-noodles.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt051262c35bca0b3e/698852c8524fc02a15df2ecf/maggi-noodles.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Maggi Instant Noodles india","caption":"Maggi Instant Noodles india","creditText":"Dhiraj Singh—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3907030/maggi-noodles-lead/","name":"Maggi Noodles Banned in India's Capital for High Lead Content"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Should I Eat Canned Tuna?","description":"It’s not the sexiest fish in the sea. 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