Maggi noodles withdrawal, 2015 (ban lifted)

The Maggi withdrawal of 2015 remains the largest food recall in Indian history and the origin of the country's modern recall system. It began with state laboratory tests reporting lead above the permitted limit and monosodium glutamate not declared on the label. In June 2015 FSSAI withdrew product approval and ordered every variant of Maggi instant noodles off shelves. Nestlé India withdrew and destroyed roughly 27,000 tonnes of product.

Nestlé challenged the order in the Bombay High Court. On 13 Aug 2015 the court set the order aside, directing that fresh samples be tested at accredited laboratories. Those samples passed, and Maggi returned to sale in November 2015.

The litigation that followed has also ended in Nestlé's favour so far. On 2 Apr 2024 the NCDRC dismissed the Ministry of Consumer Affairs' petitions seeking Rs 284.55 crore in compensation and Rs 355.41 crore in punitive damages. In Aug 2026 the Delhi High Court quashed the 2015 criminal complaints under the FSS Act over Maggi sampled in Connaught Place, citing the CFTRI Mysore referral report that found lead within limits (2026:DHC:6343).

Outlook Business's 2026 account of India's shift from paper-based to portal-based recalls (FoSCoS) treats the Maggi case as the episode that exposed the absence of a structured recall process. No order against Maggi has been in force since 2015.