Shillong, June 23 (IANS): The Meghalaya government on Tuesday banned Nestle's Maggi noodles in the state.

Commissioner of Food Safety Y. Tsering said the government banned sale of Maggi noodles in the state for 60 days after Chicken Maggi and Maggi 2-Minutes Noodle (Chicken) tested positive for MSG which is prohibited for use as additive in pastas and noodles as per regulations.

"MSG has been declared as unsafe under section 3(1)(zz) of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006," Tsering said.

"Therefore, under relevant clauses of the Act, manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of Maggi manufactured by Nestle has been prohibited initially for a period of 60 days," the official added.

Earlier, the Meghalaya government had sent 47 samples of Maggi to the Public Health Laboratory in Guwahati for testing.

The government has also sent packaged food samples of products from ten different companies for test to ascertain if these food items were safe for human consumption.