NEW DELHI: The Government on Tuesday came under attack in the Lok Sabha on pesticides in soft drinks. Members sought to know whether the Government proposed a ban on the manufacture and sale of soft drinks in the wake of the report of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that some soft drinks had higher level of pesticide residues.

Through a short notice question, members questioned Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss. Uday Singh (BJP) said the Government did not have a clear-cut policy on the issue and there was total confusion. If the CSE report was right, then it should impose a ban on the products. If it is opposite, then the States that had imposed a ban should be asked to lift it.

Parasnath Yadav (Samajwadi Party) said the soft drinks industry suffered on account of the report. His party colleague Ram Prakash Verma charged the Government with inaction.

Dr. Ramadoss said the Government was not "dithering" on the issue. A high-level committee had been set up to advice on the pesticide limits in carbonated beverages, fruits and vegetable juices and other finished products. It decided that there was a need for multi-centre monitoring studies with appropriate sampling of sugar from different geographical regions to assess the residue level of pesticides in sugar samples to pre-empt the possibility of pesticides coming through sugar, one of the constituents of soft drinks apart from water.

Dr. Ramadoss said his Ministry had issued directions to State and Central laboratories to lift samples of carbonated drinks and test them.

A total of 213 samples had been lifted from 14 States and sent for testing.

Reports from a Gujarat laboratory and Mysore's Central Food Laboratory showed that the samples indicated pesticide levels below the statutory limits. The larger question was the issue of health.

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