India's Highest Court Orders Coke,
Pepsi to Print Pesticide Residue Levels
December 07, 2004 — By Associated Press
NEW
DELHI −
Coca Cola
and Pepsi sold in India must carry a consumer warning after the nation's
Supreme Court said tests of the soft drinks bottled locally turned up high
levels of pesticides, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
The court gave the
soft-drink giants' Indian subsidiaries a two-week deadline to come up with
acceptable language for the warning labels, which will be displayed on the
sides of cans and bottles across the country, The Indian Express newspaper
said.
Last year, a New
Delhi-based activist group, the Center for Science and Environment,
claimed that pesticide residue levels in randomly selected Coke and Pepsi
bottles were 30 to 36 times higher than norms set by the European Union
due to the use of contaminated ground water.
The companies challenged
the findings in court and a judge ordered tests.
Later, India's health
minister announced the results of the court-ordered tests that showed nine
out of 12 soft drinks produced by the Coca-Cola and PepsiCo operators in
India did not meet European Union safety standards for pesticide residue,
but were considered safe under local standards.
The newspaper reported that
both companies pleaded against a court order requiring them to display a
breakdown of all their ingredients -- a particularly sensitive issue for
Coca-Cola, which has zealously guarded its secret formula, and once pulled
its soft drinks from India after a government in the 1970s ordered the
company to reveal its recipe.
In statements issued by
Coca-Cola India and PepsiCo India, both companies said their products were
safe and complied with all statutory requirements.
A statement from Pepsi
said, "Our products conform to the highest international standards that
ensure consumer safety."
Coca-Cola India said "We
follow one quality system across the world," adding that "The treated
water used to make our beverages across all our plants in the country
already meets the highest international standards, including EU."
SOURCE
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