If excessive amount of lead is found in Maggi, then action will be taken against the company: Ram Vilas Paswan pic.twitter.com/4VCcicAqyN — ANI (@ANI_news) June 3, 2015

Food and Safety department officials collect Maggi samples in Ludhiana. pic.twitter.com/j6Ux30TgiY — ANI (@ANI_news) June 3, 2015

NEW DELHI: Delhi government on Wednesday banned sales of Maggi noodles, the brand from Swiss foods major Nestle, for 15 days after it found lead and monosodium glutamate in the eatable beyond permissible limit."A fresh decision will be taken after 15 days, after rechecking the new Maggi stocks in government labs," Delhi's health minister Satyendar Jain said in a press conference.Ten out of 13 samples tested in Delhi for lead content in the popular food item were found to have amounts higher than permissible limits.Future group who runs Big Bazaar retail stores across the country has also banned the sale of Maggi in its stores.Meanwhile, Kishore Biyani-led Future Group today stopped selling Maggi in its retail stores. "In the interest of consumer sentiment and concerns, we have taken Maggi noodles off the shelves from all our stores for the time being. We will wait for more clarity from authorities to take any further course of action," a Future Group spokesperson said. Modern trade retail outlets like Big Bazaar contribute a large chunk of sales for FMCG firms, including Nestle.According to Times Now, the sale will be banned in all Delhi government stores including Kendriya Bhandar.Meanwhile, FDA authority has asked the states to carry out tests on Maggi noodles.However, Nestle India said it has not received any order from the central or any state FDA authority for recall of its Maggi noodles. "We have not received any official communication from the authorities so far," the company said in a BSE filing. It further said: "We wish to state that we have till now not received any orders from any state/Centre FDA authorities to recall Maggi noodle products in the market except an order from the Uttar Pradesh FDA dated 30.4.2015 asking us to recall a batch of Maggi noodles manufactured in February 2014, which had already reached the 'Best Before date' in November 2014.""This falls under the category of misbranding," Delhi's health minister had said. He added the government has decided to file a case against Nestle for selling unsafe product and fine it for misbranding Maggi noodles. Sources said Nestle officials will be summoned by the Delhi Government for explanation. When TOI tried to contact Nestle officials, their phones went unanswered.Reports also suggest that taking cue from other states West Bengal has also sent the samples for testing.At least 10 Indian states have either ordered the withdrawal of Maggi noodles from shops or testing of noodle samples, prior to taking action against the manufacturer, Nestle India Ltd.Maggi sales have plunged in India since laboratory tests showed the noodles contained lead and the chemical flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate, or MSG, at levels higher than the legal minimum.The brand from Swiss foods major Nestle, which is synonymous with noodles in India, has therefore also witnessed a severe dent in its popularity and image. Maggi, which clocks around Rs 1500 crore annually, contributes a significant portion of Nestle's total business in India.Maggi, the two-minute gastronomical delight of children, flew off the shelves for the wrong reason on Tuesday. State governments from Delhi to Kerala, and from Tamil Nadu to Haryana, Maharashtra and West Bengal, deployed officials to randomly collect Maggi samples of different batches and dates for testing the safety of its content.Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain had said, "Last week, we lifted 13 samples of Maggi for testing following media reports of these being unsafe for consumption. We found the masala samples, tastemakers of at least 10 such packets, had lead content beyond the prescribed limit of 2.50pm." Jain also said five samples of masala were found containing monosodium glutamate (MSG) without proper label declaration.A senior Delhi health official said all existing stocks of Maggi will have to be removed from the market immediately since 80% of samples tested were found to be unfit for human consumption.