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Wednesday, August 09 2006 @ 10:55 AM Central Daylight Time
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 In Bangalore, India, reports announced that two southern Indian states banned the sale of soft drinks produced by Coca-Cola and Pepsi on Wednesday after an environmental group said it had found pesticides in the global giants' products, officials confirmed.
Officials also said that while the coastal state of Kerala announced a blanket ban on the production and distribution of the two soft drinks, its neighbor Karnataka banned them from schools, colleges and hospitals.
On a previous report three states previously imposed bans similar to the one in Karnataka after the Delhi-based CSE or Center for Science and Environment said it had found an average pesticide residue of 11.85 parts per billion in 57 samples of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo drinks produced in 12 Indian states. Those pesticide levels are 24 times higher than limits agreed, but not yet enforced, by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Kerala's chief minister, V.S. Achuthanandan, told reporters after a cabinet meeting approved the ban, said that "There are lots of reports which prove that these drinks have certain ingredients that are harmful to the human body."
The Indian units of the two beverage companies said their drinks were safe and they held consumer safety paramount, as it was announced last week. Also added that the two companies have also published prominent newspaper advertisements to say pesticide levels in their products are below permissible levels and way below levels detected in other food products such as tea, eggs, grains, fruits and dairy products.
Officials said that under the ban, due to come into force on August 14, drinks could not be sold in schools, colleges, hospitals and anywhere in a 100 feet radius around them, as reported in Karnataka, home to India's technology hub of Bangalore.
Basavaraj Horatti, Karnataka's primary and secondary education minister, said "It has a bad effect on children's health. That is why we have banned soft drinks in schools."
Highlighting the weak food safety laws in the said country, a similar study by the CSE in 2003 briefly dented sales of the two companies' drinks when it reported levels of pesticide in excess of international standards.
Most Indian foods and beverages had high levels of pesticides as the country was one of the world's largest manufacturers and consumers of such chemicals, they say. But other experts said moves to ban soft drinks were narrow and masked the big picture.
The Indian Express said in an editorial on Tuesday that "It is this reality that needs our urgent response," and added a brief conclusion saying “Let us therefore address the issue of pesticide proliferation." Starting the fight for the country’s food safety issue, this has been discussed throughout the year.
Jron Magcale |
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