Indian State of Kerala Bans Coca-Cola and Pepsi

The Indian state of Kerala, which is run by the local communist party, has banned the production and sale of Coca-Cola and rival Pepsi Cola within its boundaries. India’s non-government organization, the Centre for Science and Environment, said that it had tested samples in 12 Indian states and found “unacceptably high levels of pesticides” in the bottled beverages. The Indian Soft Drinks Manufacturers Association disputes this. The real problem might be with the environment in India.

Reuters reported, “The new study found three to five different pesticides in 57 samples of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo drinks produced in 12 Indian states, CSE said. The average amount of pesticide residues found in the samples was 11.85 parts per billion (ppb), 24 times higher than the permitted limit of 0.5 ppb recently drafted — but not yet implemented– by the Bureau of Indian Standards, a government agency that sets safety and hygiene standards for commercial products.”

Lindane, DDT, Malathion and Chlorpyrifos are not what one expects when one cracks open a frosty cola. However, the CSE tests show that that is what the bottle contains, and in quantities that exceed government guidelines. “An acceptable level of Malathion in soda pop” isn’t a phrase that is easy to type nor to read. In addition to the Kerala prohibition, the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have already banned Coke and Pepsi sales in educational institutions, government offices and cafeterias.

Immediately after the ban, the UK-based Central Science Laboratory's (CSL) tested Cokes from Kerala and found no pesticide residues in samples of Coca-Cola. The CSE called those results “biased and untenable” since Coke paid for the tests, “Would such a study, which has been sponsored and funded by Coca-Cola, be used for regulatory purposes in the UK?” The race card is always a good one to play when people’s lives and livelihoods are on the line.

However, a letter to the editor in the Hindu newspaper noted, "there are larger issues yet to be tackled by the Central and State governments. The indiscriminate use of pesticides, fungicides and fertilisers has contaminated ground-water and soil severely. There are virtually no cereals, vegetables or fruits without pesticide residue. Milch animals are fed processed feed for want of pastureland. In Mumbai [Bombay to those over 40], vegetables grown on the lands irrigated from the drain water are highly toxic. Carrots, red pumpkins and watermelons are artificially coloured by vendors to improve their salability. The Government and the bureaucrats responsible for regulating public health have failed miserably in their duty to take a holistic approach in the matter.” India’s problem of potentially bad colas looks to be part of a much bigger problem.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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