New | Nestle issues India-wide recall of Maggie noodles amid safety scare

Nestle, battling a reputational crisis in India, pulled its Maggi instant noodles from stores across the country on Friday after regulators reported some packets contained too much lead.

After coming under fire for failing to react swiftly and decisively, Nestle bowed to pressure early yesterday morning and announced an India-wide recall.

In an effort to quell India's most significant food scare in nearly a decade, the Swiss food giant fielded group chief executive Paul Bulcke to calm consumers at a televised press conference, but he was frequently shouted down by Indian reporters.

Adding to Nestle's troubles, India's food safety regulator issued a statement just as that meeting ended, accusing the food giant of violating labelling and other rules in India. It ordered a recall of the instant noodles it said were "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption.

"We are a company that lives on the trust of our consumers," Bulcke told a packed news conference in New Delhi, repeating that it had protectively recalled the noodles to ease the minds of "shaken" consumers, but that there was no safety concern.

Sales of Maggi in India represent roughly 0.005 per cent of Nestle's global revenue of almost 92 billion Swiss francs (HK$764.2 billion), but the brand damage could extend further, and Bulcke acknowledged the company had fallen short.