The press release by the Centre for Science and Environment(CSE) that aerated bottled drinks sold by Coca-Cola Co. and Pepsico all contain a deadly cocktail of pesticide residues has created quite a stir.
What the CSE report says is that the levels of pesticides found in bottled drinks is several times higher than what is stipulated in the European norms.
In particular in Coca-Cola, the pesticide content in India is 45 times higher, in Pepsi it is 37 times higher, whereas Coca-Cola, USA and Pepsi, USA meet the European standards for pesticides.
Some of these pesticides can cause cancer and hence the big stir. Also, one is a bit gleeful that big rich multinationals have been caught on the wrong foot. David has beaten Goliath.
Six months ago, the CSE had exposed the purity of bottled water. One would have thought the bottling companies had woken up and streamlined their quality control. The bottlers say they meet Indian standards.
Indian standards for bottled drinks are non existent, so the bottlers cannot be held guilty by Indian law. However, since foreign tourists drink both bottled water and soft drinks, the MNCs cannot get away by saying they meet Indian standards. They have to meet standards expected by global customers.
So Coca-Cola Co. and Pepsi Company gave a joint advertisement in response to the CSE press note. They have claimed that in their test, the treated water meets European standards and that a laboratory in Holland with specialised equipment and highly skilled and experienced personnel, has certified that the water used after treatment meets the highest global standards. They have challenged the CSE
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