Date:13/08/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/13/stories/2006081304051500.htm

Business

Cola ban arbitrary: CII

Special Correspondent

KOCHI: The Confederation of Indian Industry has expressed concern over the recent developments in the case of reported presence of pesticide residuals in carbonated beverages. Expressing dismay at the action by several State Governments to ban the same and in the case of Kerala to ban the manufacture and scrap the licences of Pepsi and Coca-Cola, R. Seshasayee, President of Confederation of Indian Industry said the Government action appeared to be "arbitrary, avoidable and has caused unnecessary panic."

Public interest

In a press release, the CII president said: "We are a law abiding country. Government actions have to be driven by the rule of law and in the overall public interest. We are concerned that the apparently arbitrary decisions have been taken to ban manufacture and sale of the carbonated beverages, without going through the due process of law."

Expressing concern against such actions, Mr. Seshasayee said such reactions enormously impact the country's image and credibility.

He said the CII had been working closely with the national standard-setting bodies, namely the Central Committee for Food Standards and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and in facilitating development and implementation of scientific standards for all products, including the food and beverages sector. Industry is committed to providing the consumer products conforming to the highest standards of safety and quality, as appropriate to our country. Currently, soft drink manufacturers are conforming to the input standards as had been made applicable to them. They remain open to standards that are scientific, can be implemented, have a validated testing protocol and conform to best practices.

"As a general rule of CODEX, pesticide residue levels are fixed on raw agricultural commodities." The CII president expressed satisfaction at the constitution of a national-level committee by the Ministry of Health under the chairmanship of DG, ICMR, to examine the matter in detail and advise on the technical aspects. The CII president has urged expeditious finalisation of the recommendations of the national-level committee by the Ministry of Health to enable its quicker implementation.