Nestle Says Maggi Noodles Sale to Resume This Month, Shares Surge

Nestle India shares surged 3.8 per cent in afternoon trade on Wednesday after the food and beverage company said three labs, mandated by the Bombay High Court, have cleared all the samples of newly manufactured Maggi Noodles.

"All the samples of the Maggi Noodles Masala have been cleared with lead much below permissible limits," the company said in a statement to the BSE.

Nestle said it was hopeful it could return Maggi noodles to shelves in India this month. The company is currently manufacturing Maggi Noodles at three plants.

The India unit of Nestle SA, the world's largest packaged food company, had reported a 60 per cent drop in its net profit to Rs 124 crore in the September quarter, hit by the ban on Maggi instant noodles in the country.

The company has been caught in a standoff with Indian regulators for months following a nationwide ban on its Maggi instant noodles.

The ban was imposed after food regulators reported in May that some packets of Maggi noodles contained unsafe levels of lead. Nestle had to order a recall of the product next month, which cost it about over Rs 400 crore.

Nestle had challenged the ban enforced by central food regulator in Bombay High Court, which had ordered retesting of Maggi noodle samples at three separate laboratories.

Last month, Nestle said three labs mandated by the Bombay High Court had cleared samples of Maggi Noodles (old batches).

Nestle India shares ended 0.50 per cent higher as compared to a 0.25 fall in Nifty. (With Agency Inputs)