Under fire over Maggi issue, Nestle India today said it has got tested samples of the noodle brand in an external laboratory as well as in-house and the product has been found "safe to eat" with lead levels within the permissible levels for consumption.

The company was, however, silent on presence of the taste enhancer monosodium glutamate in the famous 'two-minute' noodle brand. Nestle India further said it is "fully cooperating with the authorities who are conducting further tests and we are awaiting their results".

"We have also submitted samples of Maggi Noodles from almost 600 product batches to an external laboratory for independent analysis and we tested samples from almost 1,000 batches at our accredited laboratory," the company said in a statement.

These samples represent around 32 crore packets, as one batch comprises of about two lakh packs. All the results of these internal and external tests show that lead levels are well within the limits specified by food regulations and that Maggi noodles are safe to eat, it added. "We are sharing these results with the authorities," the company said.