Coke Pepsi Pesticides??????

scouty
scouty Member Posts: 1,965 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Check out this article from todays paper.

INDIA’S highest court yesterday demanded that Coca-Cola should reveal its secret formula for the first time in 120 years.
The Supreme Court ordered the US soft drinks maker, along with its rival PepsiCo, to supply details of the chemical composition and ingredients of their products after a study released this week claimed that they contained unacceptable levels of insecticides.



Justice S. B. Sinha and Justice Dalveer Bhandari directed the companies to file their replies within four weeks, the Press Trust of India reported. “If they don’t comply, then the court has the authority to suspend sales,” Shreyas Patel, a lawyer at Fox Mandal Little, India’s oldest law firm, said. “But no one is going to give away a 120-year-old secret, especially in a country like India. Someone would go and make it themselves.”

Coca-Cola’s original recipe, according to company policy, is kept in a bank vault in Atlanta where only two executives — banned from travelling on the same aircraft — know it.

The court order followed the release of a report by the Centre for Science and Environment, a non-government body, which contended that 11 brands sold by the two soft drinks makers contained high levels of pesticide residues. The organisation said that samples from 12 states showed that Pepsi products contained 30 times more pesticides than in 2003, when a similar study was conducted. Coke samples had 25 times the amount of pesticides as three years ago.

The report, published on Wednesday, caused a row in India’s lower house, where MPs from across the political spectrum brandished its findings as reason enough to ban the sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. “These companies are playing with the lives of millions and we can’t ignore such warnings any more,” said Vijay Kumar Malhotra, from the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which staged a walkout over the issue .

It is not the first time Coca-Cola and Pepsi have found themselves mired in controversy in India. They are regular whipping boys for politicians who regard Western food products as a threat to Indian heritage, although sceptics suggest that their opposition has more to do with the companies’ virtual monopoly of the market than genuinely held feelings of cultural protectionism.

The US companies joined forces through the Indian Soft Drink Manufacturers’ Association to reject the findings of the study. “Consumer safety is paramount to us,” they said. “The soft drinks manufactured in India comply with stringent international norms and all applicable national regulations.”

The Bureau of Indian Standards, the highest government body to maintain product quality certification, has set a pesticide standard for bottled water but not for soft drinks.

In 2003, at the time of the last report, pesticide claims provoked a backlash. Schools banned colas, and fruit juice sales boomed as yoga gurus reminded people of the value of healthy drinking. Coca-Cola’s sales dropped by as much as 11 per cent in the subsequent financial quarter.

Hmmmmm, Lisa P.

Comments

  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    Anyone testing fruit juices for pesticide levels???
    Would be VERY interesting....sounds like India is 'tilting at windmills'....don't drink/buy it, if you don't like it....last time I checked, colas are NOT one of the food groups essential for life....

    Hugs, Kathi
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    I wonder if the Justices have demanded the same of some of the local tandoori restaurants - DANG that stuff can be hot! I suspect that it contains unsafe levels of gunpowder, gasoline, and nuclear waste - but it sure is good!
  • Kanort
    Kanort Member Posts: 1,272 Member
    Hmmmmmm! I wonder what is in Diet Dr. Pepper. Gave it up, but still have withdrawals.

    Hugs,

    Kay
  • kangatoo
    kangatoo Member Posts: 2,105 Member
    Kanort said:

    Hmmmmmm! I wonder what is in Diet Dr. Pepper. Gave it up, but still have withdrawals.

    Hugs,

    Kay

    mmmmmm.....now that was interesting Lisa. Here's something else on the subject. Years ago I purchased a "used" plastic container(about 30 gallon capacity) for the sole use of depositing "wet" sailing gear...wetsuits etc. after a day sailing. The container(which had been cleaned) had embossed on it "phosphoric acid" and I was told they were disgarded from a "coca cola" factory then sold as general use containers.
    I do not know if that was the true use for them but the following links will prove food for thought.
    http://www.npi.gov.au/database/substance-info/profiles/71.html

    http://www.serendibnews.com/kids.html
    Of course it is I guess prudent to question the amount of phosphoric acid used per gallon during the manufacturing process....nonetheless the links make interesting reading. Thanks for the heads up Lisa.
    Ross n Jen