Following the controversy caused by an independent organisation reporting high levels of pesticides in Coke and Pepsi brands, the Indian government has said it is to set up a parliamentary committee to investigate pesticide levels in soft drinks.
The government said yesterday that its tests had cleared both Coca-Cola and Pepsi but health minister, Sushma Swaraj, has said that an all-party committee would be convened to compile a report on the issue during the next session of parliament.
While Coke and Pepsi were cleared by the government, its tests did reveal that nine of the 12 drinks tested contained pesticide levels above EU limits although they all met Indian standards.
One consequence of the scare was the imposition of a ban on the drinks in the parliament’s own canteen. Interestingly, the head of the committee said that ban would remain in place until the committee reports.
