Nestle India has relaunched the popular Maggi noodles in India on today, five months after they were banned due to the alleged presence of excessive lead content. "Your favorite Maggi Noodles are now back. Delighted to hand over Maggi Noodles to consumers to whom it belongs," Nestle India tweeted.

"Maggi Noodles rightfully belong to the consumers and I feel happy to be able to give back to them their familiar taste during the auspicious and festive Deepawali season," Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director of Nestle India said.

"Most states do not have a ban on sale of Maggi noodles. For states where specific directions are required, we are engaging with them," Nestle India said in a BSE filing. The company is presently manufacturing Maggi noodles at three locations, Nanjangud (Karnataka), Moga (Punjab) and Bicholim (Goa).

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), banned the production and sale of Maggi in June, amid of claims that the samples contained dangerously high levels of lead and the taste enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG). The ban was overturned by the Bombay High Court, later. The high court asked Nestle India to get the samples tested by three accredited labs, in view of public health concerns. The company later announced the tests were cleared.

The Swiss food major, Nestle India has partnered with online marketplace Snapdeal for the rollout. For regaining consumer confidence, Nestle has roped in advertising veteran Prasoon Joshi and his firm McCann Erickson to handle the relaunch of the company’s Maggi instant noodles.

“While Publicis India is the agency on record for Maggi noodles in India, we have been working with McCann India for some corporate projects. This (relaunch of Maggi) is one such project,” Nestle spokesperson said.

By Premji