The Hindu : Our stand vindicated, say CSE, soft drink companies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 22, 2003

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National

Our stand vindicated, say CSE, soft drink companies

By Our Special Correspondent

— Photo: Kamal Narang

The chairman of Pepsico India Holdings, Rajiv Bakshi (left), and the president of Coca-Cola India, Sanjiv Gupta, welcoming the Government statement on soft drinks, in New Delhi on Thursday.

NEW DELHI AUG. 21. Reacting to the Union Health Minister, Sushma Swaraj's statement in Parliament on results of the tests on soft drinks, both sides to the controversy, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the soft drink majors Pepsi and Coca Cola claimed that their stand had been vindicated.

Addressing a press conference, the CSE Director, Sunita Narain, said the Minister's announcement that pesticides were found in 18 of the 24 samples tested by Government laboratories and in levels higher than those stipulated by the European Union was a clear indictment of the soft drinks manufacturers, as they had been claiming that their products did not contain any pesticide residue.

She also noted that Ms. Swaraj had acknowledged that the Government regulations for soft drinks were weak and virtually non-existent for pesticide residues, and welcomed the Minister's announcement that the recently-notified standards for bottled water would be made applicable to soft drinks also.

Ms. Narain, however, expressed disappointment that the Minister had "attempted'' to give a clean chit to the manufacturers by stating that soft drinks were safe because they were well within the current norms for packaged drinking water.

As regards the findings of the tests, which showed that though present, the level of the pesticide residue was far less than that reported by the CSE, she said this could be due to several reasons, such as the time of the year in which they were manufactured and the manner in which samples were collected.

Pesticide levels could vary depending on the seasons during which pesticides were used and the dilution levels, which depend on rainfall. The CSE's samples were available for further testing.

It would like to see the final copy of the Government report and compare the methodologies used to understand the differences in the data.

`Products perfectly safe'

In a joint statement, Rajiv Bakshi, chairman, Pepsico India Holdings, and Sanjiv Gupta, president, Coca-Cola India, said the Minister's announcement that their products were perfectly safe was an "enormous step in restoring consumer confidence in our soft drinks.''

They welcomed the Government's decision to specify standards for the water used in the manufacture of beverages in line with the packaged drinking water norms as is the international practice.

"We would once again reiterate that this is the practice both companies are following in India and internationally.''

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Bakshi asserted that Coca Cola and Pepsi products manufactured at present in India could be sold in any country in the world and meet that country's product safety standards without any problem.

Asked whether the two companies would take the CSE to court in the light of the Government laboratories' findings, Mr. Bakshi said that they were not planning any such action. "The CSE is inconsequential. The consumer is our primary concern.''

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