All quotes in the following answers are from the Nestle India spokesperson

What is the market share of Maggi noodles?

Euromonitor International - an independent market intelligence firm - has estimated Nestle India's Maggi market share at 64 per cent. But the company itself believes that it is closer to 80 per cent. Maggi was introduced in India in 1983 and has been the dominant player in the instant noodles business.

Who are the other key competitors and what are their market shares?

Hindustan Unilever (Knorr Soupy Noodles), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (Foodles), Capital Foods Ltd. (Ching's Secret), ITC (Sunfeast Yippee noodles), CG Foods India Pvt Ltd (Wai Wai), and Future Group (Tasty Treat). It is difficult to obtain reliable market share estimates for the competition. Nestle once famously said that the market shares of the others was "irrelevant". Some reports suggest that ITC's Yipee noodles has cornered a 10 per cent market share but this is unconfirmed.

What is Nestle India's turnover? How much does Maggi contribute?

Nestle India's turnover in 2014 was Rs 9,806 crore; Maggi accounts for around 25 per cent of this (or around Rs 2,451 crore).

Has there been any quantitative assessment of the loss Maggi has suffered since the controversy?

Nestle India hasn't officially made any such assessment as yet. Some media reports have indicated that Maggi noodles sales have been down by about 15 per cent. The 15-day ban in Delhi will hurt its sales. Kerala has also ordered its government-owned stores not to stock Maggi noodles. Future Group has said it will not stock Maggi noodles at its 570 stores across different retail formats including Big Bazar, Easy Day, KB's and Nilgiris.

How is Nestle responding to the charges?

The official response: "We understand that consumers are concerned by reports that the authorities in Uttar Pradesh have found elevated levels of lead in a sample pack of Maggi noodles. We are fully cooperating with the authorities that are conducting further tests and we are awaiting their results. The quality and safety of our products are the top priorities for our company."

One charge is that Nestle packets say "No MSG" but the noodles do have it. What is the company's response?

"We are aware of reports that tests by the local authorities have detected Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) in a sample of Maggi Noodles and that they are continuing their investigation. We have submitted product samples to an independent accredited laboratory and will share the results with the authorities.

"We do not add MSG to our Maggi Noodles sold in India and this is stated on the packet of the product concerned. However, we use hydrolysed groundnut protein, onion powder and wheat flour to make Maggi Noodles sold in India, which all contain glutamate. We believe that the authorities' tests may have detected glutamate, which occurs naturally in many foods."

What about the charge of lead content?

"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. These samples represent around 125 million packets.

"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. We are sharing these results with the authorities.

"We regularly monitor all our raw materials for lead, including testing by accredited laboratories which have consistently shown levels in Maggi Noodles to be within permissible limits."

The samples tested in Uttar Pradesh were taken in April 2014 but the controversy became public recently...

"On April 30, 2015, the local authorities in Lucknow asked us to recall one batch of Maggi Noodles (around 200,000 packs) which were manufactured in February 2014 and had already reached the 'Best Before date' in November 2014. Nestle India's current practice is to collect stock that is near 'Best Before date' from distributors/retailers so we are confident that these packs are no longer in the market."