Would you fancy a little pesticide to go with that?
Some three years back, an independent NGO: the Center for Science and the Environment, found unsafe levels of pesticides in Coke and Pepsi in India, findings that were subsequently corrobarated by a parliamentary committee. Now more recently, a repeat study finds something like 25 times the EU standards of pesticide in Indian soft drinks [report here]. The study finds pesticide residues in all samples; it finds a cocktail of 3-5 different pesticides in all samples - on an average 24 times higher than BIS norms, which have been finalised but not yet notified. The levels in some samples - for instance, Coca-Cola bought in Kolkata - exceeded the BIS standards by 140 times for the deadly pesticide Lindane. Similarly, a Coca-Cola sample manufactured in Thane contained the neurotoxin Chlorpyrifos, 200 times the standard.
Various state governments seem to haven taken this seriously at face value and have issued bans.
The Bush administration of course, sees things differently."This kind of action is a setback for the Indian economy," Undersecretary for International Trade Franklin Lavin told AFP. "In a time when India is working hard to attract and retain foreign investment, it would be unfortunate if the discussion were dominated by those who did not want to treat foreign companies fairly." [ source Progressive Magazine]
The pesticide report is apparently somewhat controversial, with other newspaper columns suggesting that pesticide amounts in the colas are well within acceptable levels, and lower than those in other common foods [e.g. 1, 2 - thanks to birdonthewire]. Coke though, has had a stellar record of treating locals exemplarily, from drawing so much water at its bottling plants in Kerala that surrouding villages are left without drinking water, to passing off cadmium and lead leaden slush as "fertiliser" to farmers (also in Kerala) to murdering labour organisers at its bottling plants in Colombia [ sources India Resource Center, and Killer Coke]. India is not alone in resisting Coke, there is growing resistance to Coke's record in Colombia and India, within the US, with a few US universities banning Coke from their campuses. It is easy to explain this as yet another example of a multinational's colonial mindset, but a little anger of behalf of the Indians in Plachimada and elsewhere and Colombians who deserve justice is a good thing.
Various state governments seem to haven taken this seriously at face value and have issued bans.
The Bush administration of course, sees things differently."This kind of action is a setback for the Indian economy," Undersecretary for International Trade Franklin Lavin told AFP. "In a time when India is working hard to attract and retain foreign investment, it would be unfortunate if the discussion were dominated by those who did not want to treat foreign companies fairly." [ source Progressive Magazine]
The pesticide report is apparently somewhat controversial, with other newspaper columns suggesting that pesticide amounts in the colas are well within acceptable levels, and lower than those in other common foods [e.g. 1, 2 - thanks to birdonthewire]. Coke though, has had a stellar record of treating locals exemplarily, from drawing so much water at its bottling plants in Kerala that surrouding villages are left without drinking water, to passing off cadmium and lead leaden slush as "fertiliser" to farmers (also in Kerala) to murdering labour organisers at its bottling plants in Colombia [ sources India Resource Center, and Killer Coke]. India is not alone in resisting Coke, there is growing resistance to Coke's record in Colombia and India, within the US, with a few US universities banning Coke from their campuses. It is easy to explain this as yet another example of a multinational's colonial mindset, but a little anger of behalf of the Indians in Plachimada and elsewhere and Colombians who deserve justice is a good thing.