Saturday, August 12, 2006
Coke and Pepsi banned
Several Indian states have already banned the sale of Coke and Pepsi at schools and colleges after scientists found they were contaminated by pesticides.
Kerala is the first Indian state to ban producing or selling the drinks; its neighbour Karnataka has banned them from schools, colleges and hospitals.
"There are lots of reports which prove that these drinks have certain ingredients that are harmful to the human body," said VS Achuthanandan, Kerala's chief minister, after a cabinet meeting approved the ban. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo could not be reached immediately for comment.
Last week, the Center for Science and Environment in
The centre said that tests on 57 samples taken from 11 soft drink brands made by Coca-Cola
On Tuesday, PepsiCo placed advertisements with several Indian newspapers saying the company follows Indian government's regulations and that the "pesticide residues present in soft drinks are minuscule."
The company also said that food will often contain residues of pesticides used by farmers.
"Our beverages in
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