Sameer Barde, Nestle India spokesman, said on Tuesday in New Delhi that the company would destroy instant noodles worth $50 million in India.
Barde said the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said the Maggi-branded products contained “unsafe and hazardous” levels of lead and banned all nine available varieties, prompting Nestle to withdraw them from shop shelves.
Barde said the company had maintained the noodles were safe and challenged the ban in an Indian court.
He said the process of destroying the noodles had begun and the Bombay Stock exchange had been informed.
The spokesperson said the value of withdrawn noodles included stocks taken off the market as well as stocks stored in factories and distribution centres.
Barde said: There will be additional costs to take into account, for example, bringing stock from the market, transporting the stock to the destruction points, destruction costs etc.
“The final figure will have to be confirmed at a later date.”
Barde said the food regulator had also ordered tests on more noodle products by some Indian and multinational firms after banning Maggi noodles.
Maggi noodles in their yellow-and-red packages have been a familiar sight on shop shelves across India.
dpa/NAN.