Coca-Cola and PepsiCo sold soft drinks containing pesticides harm-ful to human health and misled India's 1 billion people over claims that their products were safe for human consumption, Indian mem-bers of parliament (MPs) concluded on Wednesday.
Their report recommended strin-gent new regulations for fizzy drinks which would "seek complete freedom from pesticide residues [in] aerated beverages."
An estimated seven bottles of cold drinks are sold to every Indian each year in a market worth ?900 million (US$1.6 billion). Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for more than 80 percent of the market.
The row between soft-drink makers and campaigners erupted last summer when a Delhi-based environmental group, the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), claimed that Coca-Cola and PepsiCo products manufactured in India contained toxins far above the norms permitted in the developed world.
Tests by campaigners showed Pepsi's soft drinks had 36 times the level of pesticide residues permitted under EU regulations and Coca-Cola's had 30 times the level.
The center said that, in all 12 of the soft drinks it tested, toxins including lindane and DDT were found. If ingested over long periods, these chemicals could lead to cancer and failure of the immune system. Similar tests on US colas found no such residues.
MPs said yesterday that five laboratories had confirmed, but not replicated, the results on the colas.
"We did not find exactly the same level of pesticides or the same quantities but this was because they were not exactly the same samples. For example, the batches were different, the manufacturing was different. But all contained pesticides," said Sanjay Nirupam, a member of India's upper house who sat on the joint parliamentary committee.
Nirupam added: "The consumer has to be sure what they are buying is safe. You do not find US colas with pesticides, so why force us to drink pesticides?"
The committee has been convened only three times before, and experts say it is inconceivable that India's government would not act on its findings.
Evidence to the committee suggested that even the toughest safety requirements would cost companies less than half a penny for each bottle sold. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have contested the claims, even wheeling out the Bollywood stars last year to reassure consumers.
Both companies said on Wed-nesday that they were "reviewing" the report. In a statement PepsiCo reiterated its claim that the company has "always produced beverages in India that are absolutely safe and made according to the same high quality standards we use around the world."
But Wednesday's decision by MPs to uphold the center's findings has been hailed as a victory for environmentalists.
"The joint parliamentary committee has to be congratulated for putting public health first," said Sunita Narain, a CSE director. "These companies have operated outside the ambit of the law all over the world. The implications are that if you can do this here then it is also incumbent on other governments to adopt these standards."
The two US companies were also attacked over the running of two bottling plants in the southern Indian state of Kerala. MPs said that Coca-Cola and Pepsi's operations have resulted in pollution of water, depletion of ground water, reduced yield in crops, skin disorders and other ailments.
Both companies claim that far from depleting the local water supply they were in fact recharging the aquifers with the same amount of water they used. But the report says their efforts were not "commensurate enough."
Narain also noted that the implications of the CSE report go beyond the role of multinationals.
The Indian government is taken to task for failing to provide clean drinking water to its people. Almost all tap water contains traces of toxins and the report says governments should set safety standards that are legally enforceable.
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