Goa bans Maggi sale, Centre may probe other fast food items

 In more trouble for Nestle's 'Maggi' instant noodles, Goa today became the 11th state to impose a ban on its sale even as Centre indicated that more fast food products could be probed.

Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar announced the ban on Maggi, which is at the centre of a raging nationwide row over food safety concerns, keeping in view a similar measure taken by various other states though Maggi samples tested by the Goa's health regulator did not find any harmful contents in them. "Since Maggi has already been banned across the country, we have decided not to take a chance and ban it in Goa," he said.

Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Uttarakhand earlier banned Maggi noodles amid mounting food safety concerns and several laboratory tests reporting excessive lead in it.

"Though the results of Maggi samples tested in state-run Food and Drugs Administration's (FDA) laboratory did not show presence of any harmful contents, the State Government has decided to ban sale of Maggi here," Parsekar said.

He said <g data-gr-id="18">government</g> has already sent the samples of Maggi for further tests in a private lab at Mysore.

Nestle, the company which manufactures Maggi noodles, has a plant in Goa in Bicholim town.