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Indian   Coke, Pepsi Laced with Pesticides, Says NGO 
   
  By Ranjit Devraj
  Inter Press Service
  August 5, 2003

NEW DELHI — One of India’s leading voluntary   agencies, the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) said Tuesday that soft   drinks manufactured in India, including those carrying the Pepsi and   Coca-Cola brand names, contain unacceptably high levels of pesticide   residues.

The   CSE analyzed samples from 12 major soft drink manufacturers that are sold in   and around the capital at its laboratories and found that all of them   contained residues of four extremely toxic pesticides and   insecticides–lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos.

“In   all the samples tested, the levels of pesticide residue far exceeded the   maximum permissible total pesticide limit of 0.0005 mg per liter in water   used as food, set down by the European Economic Commission (EEC),” said   Sunita Narain, director of the CSE at a press conference convened to announce   the findings.

The   level of chlorpyrifos was 42 times higher than EEC norms, their study showed.   Malathion residues were 87 times higher and lindane–recently banned in the   United States–21 times higher, CSE scientists said.

They   added that each sample was toxic enough to cause long-term cancer, damage to   the nervous and reproductive systems, birth defects, and severe disruption of   the immune system.

Samples   from brand leaders Coca-Cola and Pepsi had almost similar concentrations of   pesticide residues in the CSE findings. Contaminants in Pepsi samples were 37   times higher than the EEC limit while its rival Coca-Cola exceeded the norms   by 45 times, the same findings showed.

The   chiefs of the Indian subsidiaries of Coca-Cola and Pepsi were quick to refute   the charges made at the press conference. Sanjeev Gupta, president of   Coca-Cola India, called the revelations made by CSE “unfair” and   said his company was being subjected to a ”trial by media”.

“All   Coca -Cola products are repeatedly tested for safety norms. This is   unacceptable,” he said over the telephone.

Gupta   and the chief of the Pepsi India, Rajiv Bakshi, have called for an   independent inquiry led by India’s top scientists to settle the issue.

Coca-Cola,   the world’s “most valuable brand” at $70 billion, is already   defending charges made by British Broadcasting Corp Radio 4 last month that   waste sludge distributed to farmers from its plant at Plachimada in southern   Kerala state has high concentrations of the toxic metal cadmium.

In   a joint press conference by Pepsi and Coke here Tuesday evening, Bakshi and   Gupta said they were contemplating legal action against the CSE because the   revelations had harmed the industry.

“We   expect a temporary setback for about a week or so and then we are sure the   consumers will have the same confidence in us they have always shown,”   said Bakshi. But Narain said the CSE stood by its findings.

Six   months ago, CSE announced findings that nearly all bottled mineral water   manufactured in India, including brands owned by Pepsi and Coca-Cola had   large amounts of pesticides. This led to a massive government crackdown.

At   the time, Delhi state health minister A K Walia, a qualified physician   himself, upheld the CSE findings and its laboratory. “They (CSE) are   using sensitive, internationally accepted methods,” he said.

CSE   scientists H. B. Mathur and Sapna Johnson, who were present at the press   conference, said their basic inference was that, as with the bottled mineral   water, the soft drink manufacturers were drawing their water supplies from   groundwater that is heavily contaminated by years of indiscriminate pesticide   use.

High   pesticide residues were reported in groundwater around Delhi two years ago,   when the government’s Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and the Central   Pollution Control Board (CPCB) carried out a study which also reported   excessive salinity, nitrate and fluoride content besides traces of lead,   cadmium and chromium.

Independent   surveys have shown that tap water in the capital drawn from the Yamuna river   and treated by Delhi Jal Board, the state-owned water utility, was loaded   with bacteria that can cause cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. It also   contained unacceptable amounts of solids and dissolved matter.

Narain   said it was not easy to take the companies to court because they hide behind   a “meaningless maze” of government regulations concerning the   manufacture of soft drinks, which are completely ineffective and designed to   help the soft drink industry rather than consumers.

The   Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act of 1954 and the Fruit Products   Order (FPO) of 1955–both aimed at regulating the quality of contents in   beverages – do not even provide scope for regulating pesticides in soft   drinks.

Lax   standards on food products are cited as one reason why India has not been   able to make a dent in the international market. Last week, a European agency   ordered alerts on chili powder imported from India because samples were found   to be adulterated with banned carcinogenic dyes.

Significantly,   the CSE laboratories tested samples of soft drink brands popularly sold in   the United States as control–and found that they did not contain any   pesticide residue.

In   2001, Indians consumed over 6.5 billion bottles of soft drinks Their growing   popularity means that children and teenagers, who glug these bottles, are   drinking a toxic potion, activists say.

CSE   found that the regulations for the powerful and massive soft drinks industry   are much weaker, indeed non-existent, as compared to those for the bottled   water industry. The norms that exist to regulate the quality of cold drinks   are inadequate, leaving this “food” sector virtually unregulated.

So   pampered is the lucrative soft drink sector that it is exempted from the   provisions of industrial licensing under the Industries (Development and   Regulation) Act, 1951.

A   one-time license from the ministry of food processing industries includes a   no-objection certificate from the local government as well as the state   pollution control board, and a water analysis report.

There   are no environmental impact assessments or sitting regulations, so the   industry’s use of water is not regulated.

 

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