India bans soft drinks
An environmental group finds high levels of pesticides in Coke and Pepsi products in India.
Multiple news agencies have reported that Coke and Pepsi products have been removed from supermarket shelves in some states in India after a New Delhi-based environmental group reported high levels of pesticides in soft drinks. In the study, the Centre for Science and Environment tested 57 samples of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo soft drinks from 25 different manufacturing plants throughout India.
The center found 3–5 different pesticides in each sample at levels 24× higher than the national norms. For instance, one bottle of Coca-Cola contained the pesticide lindane at levels 140× the national standards.
This latest report builds on earlier research conducted by the center in 2003 that found similar problems. At that time, the problem was brought to the attention of the Indian national government, which has continued to debate the issue but has failed to enact regulations.
Experts are not certain how the pesticides enter the manufacturing process, but they suspect that the water is contaminated from decades of pesticide use for agriculture.
