Activist slams Coca-Cola's hygiene training for street vendors

Criticising the move by India's food regulator to join hands with Coca-Cola to teach street vendors about hygiene, a green body today said the contract should be cancelled as it was against the country's interests.

"First, we as citizens of India have the right to know on what basis this contract was allotted to Coca-Cola. Given their past record how did this corporation be given the contract?" said Vandana Shiva, founder of 'Navdanya' under Mahila Anna Swaraj Network.

She alleged that given Coca-Cola's track record of pollution, contamination, water theft, food un-safety, and blatant transgression of Indian environmental laws, it does not qualify to teach Indians about food safety.

"We know this is an egregious step taken under corporate pressure by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Far from bringing food safety, this will ruin the diversity of India's street foods and will victimise the honest small street vendors of India, who for generations have been giving us taste and health," said Shiva.

Food regulator FSSAI recently tied up with Coca-Cola India to train 50,000 street food vendors over the next three years and plans to rope in other players like ITC and Mondelez under its 'Clean Street Food' campaign.

FSSAI is also looking to bring other companies such as Yum Restaurants, and Tetra Pak under the project. The regulator had collaborated with FMCG major Nestle to train street vendors in Goa last year.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)