India Bans Soft Drinks in Pesticides Row

Coca-Cola and Pepsi are being banned across several Indian states after an environmental pressure group said it had found pesticides in drinks produced by the Indian arms of the companies.

So far, three large Indian states - Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - have stopped selling colas in government offices and educational institutions. The move will affect thousands of schools and will deprive the cola giants of a potential market of 30 million households.

Another state, Kerala, which consumes 5% of the 500m cases of cola sold in the country, is also considering banning Coke and Pepsi.

A study released last week by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found an average pesticide residue of 11.85 parts per billion in 57 samples of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo drinks produced in 12 Indian states. This is about 24 times higher than limits agreed, but not yet enforced, by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

This is the second report from the centre, based in Delhi. A previous study released in 2003 found that four pesticides were in Indian fizzy drinks. This time five pesticides were found in cola samples collected from across the country.

The CSE said pesticide levels were not necessarily any higher in cola than in any other foodstuffs consumed daily by Indians. The difference, insisted the environmental thinktank, is that soft drinks do not have substantial nutritional value, which would make drinking them worth the risk.

The supreme court had last week issued notices to both Pepsi and Coca-Cola that seeks to force the companies to disclose the drinks' "secret recipe". The cola makers have four weeks to reply.

To make matters worse, last Thursday a majority of MPs in the country's parliament called for a nationwide ban on the bottled drinks. However, government ministers said that legislation was on the way to prevent poisons contaminating ground water supplies.

Both multinationals have so far refused to comment, leaving the Indian Soft Drink Manufacturers' Association instead to insist that the drinks were safe and that safety was paramount.