Will win back trust of Indian consumers, says Nestle CEO

Nestle's global chief executive promised on Friday to win back the trust of Indian consumers and work with food safety authorities to get its popular Maggi noodles back on the country's shelves "as soon as possible".

But Chief Executive Paul Bulcke also called for greater clarity from India's own regulators, asking to see the results of laboratory tests that have prompted at least six states to ban Maggi noodles.

"We are a company that lives on the trust of consumers," Bulcke told reporters in New Delhi. "I am confident that we are going to come back very soon."

Nestle announced earlier on Friday it would withdraw the noodles from sale, two weeks after a local regulator first reported excess lead in some packets.