Maggi Noodles Controversy: UK to Test Samples From Today

London: The food safety agency of the United Kingdom will start testing a few samples of Maggi noodles, which includes a particular variant 'masala' which is imported from India, starting Saturday. After reports and results that the instant noodles was found to have high content of lead, much more than permissible limit, the government here has decided to check the existing stock imported by Indian stores in the country.

At the moment most Indian stores continue to sell Maggi noodles for double the price in London. "We have so far not received any communication to either hold or stop the sale do we are clearing stock we already have," said Rashid Butt, a store owner on London road in South London.

The food regulation act of UK requires every single ingredient that goes into making a product in the country to be listed on the packaging. "Why can't India bring in these kind of strict laws too, especially when it comes to food? Many of us are allergic to some things; we should know what exactly we are eating. It should become a global practice - to specify each ingredient instead of hoodwinking the consumers," said Savie, a homemaker in London.

"Maggi is our life saviour. I will continue to buy it as long as it is available because it is cheap and tasty food for me as a student who lives in one room, with just a kettle," said Fazal, a student of Mathematics at the University of Bath.

The popular snack is facing the heat in India after high lead content was found in few of its samples tested in Uttar Pradesh. On Friday, Nestle's global CEO Paul Bulcke asserted in Delhi that Maggi noodles are "safe to eat", but India's food safety regulator FSSAI said laboratory tests have found overwhelming evidence that the instant noodles are "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption and issued a series of orders to Nestle, including withdrawing nine versions of its Maggi instant noodles and another product that, it said, was being sold without product approval.