Mercury News (Associated Press)
Group Questions Soda Pesticide Levels

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercuryne...ss/6463761.htm

ASHOK SHARMA
Associated Press

NEW DELHI, India - The Indian arms of PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co.
are selling soft drinks in India containing dangerous levels of
pesticide residue, an independent research group said Tuesday. The
companies defended the quality of their products.

Sunita Narain, chief of the independent New Delhi-based Center for
Science and Environment, told reporters the levels of pesticides in
the PepsiCo brands tested were 36 times higher than European Union
standards.

The average for all Coca-Cola products was 30 times higher than
guidelines used by the European Union, she said, noting the residue
was apparently coming from groundwater polluted by toxic pesticides.

The top executives of the two rival companies held a rare joint news
conference denying the allegations and demanding to know what
laboratories did the testing, and how the research was conducted.

The Center acknowledged that Indian brands also have high pesticide
levels, because agricultural pesticides are in the country's ground
water, but said the focus was on Coke and Pepsi because they account
for more than three-fourths of the bottled soft drinks consumed in
India.

"We tested the two soft drink brands sold in the United States to see
if these contained pesticides. They didn't," Narain said.

The toxins found in the soft drinks could, if consumed over a long
period, cause cancer, damage to the nervous system, birth defects and
disruption of the immune system, Narain said. She noted that India has
no laws banning pesticides in soft drinks.

Sanjeev Gupta, president and chief executive of Coca-Cola India,
challenged the assertion that the soft drink sold in India is
different than in other countries. "Our product is ... the same
product, which we sell in America, in Europe and India," he said.

Calling the report "baseless," Rajeev Bakshi, head of PepsiCo India
Holdings Private Ltd., demanded the claims made by the research body
be verified by an independent and accredited laboratory that is
capable of conducting sophisticated tests for pesticides.

Twelve samples of Pepsi and Coke purchased in and around the Indian
capital contained toxic pesticides and insecticides, including
lindane, DDT and malathion, the Center said its researchers found.

It did not say which laboratories were used, but a similar report by
the Center in February on bottled water sold by Coke, Pepsi and other
companies was accepted by the companies. Gupta, in fact, said that
Coke had checked all its processes and established new testing
procedures on the basis of the previous report.

Those earlier findings on bottled water prompted the Indian government
to withdraw quality certificates given to some of India's most popular
brands of bottled water and issue strict guidelines.

Considered one India's leading research centers on environment issues,
the Center for Science and Environment receives funds from the Indian
government as well as domestic and overseas private agencies.