Kerala bans manufacture, sale of Coke, Pepsi

The Kerala Cabinet, which met today, decided to ban manufacture and sale of cola products from Coca-Cola and Pepsi plants in the state. This was announced by Kerala Chief Minister V S Achudanandan.

The LDF Liaison Committee in Kerala had earlier recommended a ban on the sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi following findings by the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

Meanwhile, three southern states "" Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu "" have joined the list of states imposing a ban on cola products.

The Karnataka government today banned 11 brands of soft drinks in hospitals and educational institutions from August 14 following allegations of presence of hazardous pesticides in them.

The ban in Karnataka will apply to Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Blue, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Thums Up and 7UP.

The Tamil Nadu government yesterday imposed a ban on the sale of Coke and Pepsi in educational institutions in the state.

Also, The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to prohibit the sale of colas in educational institutions. State finance minister K Rosaiah said the government has issued informal instructions to the education department to see that colas are not sold in schools and other educational institutions.