NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 9, 2006: While four Indian states have banned the sale of Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks made by Indian subsidiaries of Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. in schools, colleges and government offices, Kerala has been the first to impose a total ban on production and sales. Kerala’s health secretary, Viswas Mehta, told The Associated Press the state banned the drinks because of concerns over pesticide contamination and said his department began collecting its own samples of Coke and Pepsi for independent testing. The Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi said it found pesticide residues in samples of Coke and Pepsi that were 24 times above the limits set by the Bureau of Indian Standards. The center said it carried out tests on 57 samples taken from 11 soft drink brands made by Coca-Cola India and PepsiCo India and found a “cocktail of three to five different pesticides,” all apparently present in water used to make the drinks. The toxins could, if consumed over a long period, cause cancer, damage to the nervous system, birth defects and disruption of the immune system, the center said. On Tuesday, PepsiCo placed advertisements with several Indian newspapers saying the company follows Indian government’s regulations and the “pesticide residues present in soft drinks are minuscule.”
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