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ShareNEW DELHI: Three years after the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) reported high levels of pesticides in popular cold drink brands, killer chemicals continue to contaminate the drinks at unacceptably high levels.
Moreover, despite the outcry three years ago, the move to set up standards for the soft drinks industry have been consistently blocked by powerful interests in government, the CSE said.
The 2006 CSE study tested 57 samples of 11 soft drink brands from 25 different manufacturing plants of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in 12 states.
It found a cocktail of three to five pesticides in all samples. On an average, the contamination levels were 24 times higher than Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms. Though the norms have been defined, they have not been notified.
Coca-Cola bought in Kolkata exceeded the BIS standard by 140 times for the pesticide lindane. Similarly, a Coke sample manufactured in Thane contained the neurotoxin chlorpyrifos at a level 200 times higher than the standard.
"This is clearly unacceptable," said Sunita Narain, CSE director. "Pesticides are tiny toxins and affect our bodies over time."
The CSE has found pesticide residues as high as 52 times in bottles bought in Kolkata, and 42 times in bottles bought in Nainital and Gorakhpur. Similarly, bottles bought in Mumbai, manufactured in Thane and Nagpur, are 34 times above the BIS standard.
The CSE's 2003 report had resulted in a joint parliamentary committee probing the matter. But the standards decided by the committee are, paradoxically, being opposed by the Union health ministry, which argues that more research is needed.
The ministry has in the last three years set up several committees to examine safety concerns but has made little progress.
