High levels of pesticides found in Indian Coca Cola and Pepsi products

Urban Ranger · August 8, 2003, 12:08

Quote:

CALCUTTA, India, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Controversy is nothing new to the Indian operations of Coca Cola and Pepsi. But it reached a high point on Tuesday when a Delhi-based privately owned environment monitoring organization, the Center for Science and Environment charged the two cola giants with selling soft drinks containing traces of four extremely toxic pesticides and insecticides -- lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos.

"Twelve major cold drink brands manufactured by Coca-Cola and Pepsi and sold in and around Delhi contain a deadly cocktail of pesticide residues," she Sunita Narain, director of the CSE at high profile press conference. "These pesticides include potent chemicals which can cause cancers, damage the nervous and reproductive systems and reduce bone mineral density."

The CSE also said that in all the samples, the levels of pesticide residues far exceeded the maximum residue limit for pesticides in water used as "food", set down by the European Economic Commission. In Pepsi brands, the total pesticides on an average were 36 times higher than the EEC limits. The Coca-Cola brands contained levels 30 times higher.

Source: UPI

CSE press release

This is extremely disturbing. What do you think?

DAVOUT · August 8, 2003, 12:27

Pleased to see that the European culture of pesticides is spreading as far as the American culture of cola.

JohnT · August 8, 2003, 12:31

I pretty much agree with the points in the press release, especially the following sentiment:

Quote:

Finally, a larger issue. Coke and Pepsi are not extra-constitutional authorities in this country. They cannot determine the regulations they will follow. The people of India must demand adequate regulations, which guarantees their safety. CSE, therefore, hope that this debate will now move the government to enact tight regulations for this industry – however powerful -- as fast as possible.

CerberusIV · August 8, 2003, 13:16

It gets better. A new report alleges toxic levels of cadmium in sludge from one of the plants.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3133259.stm

Sava · August 8, 2003, 13:17

Is this just Indian Coke and Pepsi, or all Coke and Pepsi? Maybe I should buy RC just in case.

JohnT · August 8, 2003, 13:20

It deals with the conditions in Indian bottling plants, so it is an Indian issue.

Sava · August 8, 2003, 13:20

ty johnny! phew!

Arrian · August 8, 2003, 13:29

The Indian government needs to light a major fire under their asses.

Just like the US had to do in the 70s, 80s and 90s - new regulations, and an agency empowered to ram them down corporation's throats (though I'm sure they could improve upon our methods).

-Arrian

Urban Ranger · August 9, 2003, 01:19

First the unbelivable Union Carbide accident, now this. Is India just a great big toxic waste dump?

Sarxis · August 9, 2003, 02:42

I can't understand what the hell sugar-water (Pepsi) has to do with these pesticides, and why they would be near the production of it.

JohnT · August 9, 2003, 02:46

It's the water supply. The ingredients are shipped in from Atlanta (or wherever) and mixed using the local water supply.

Sarxis · August 9, 2003, 02:48

So its in their drinking water anyway? Sounds like a local problem, one I'm sure Pepsi co. would be willing to help out with.

Dis · August 9, 2003, 02:49

Coca Cola suppsedly has that secret recipe. Which I do like- it tastes much better than Pepsi.

But when I drank Coke in other countries it always tasted different. I don't think they use the same exact recipe. But I've only had coke from Greece and Saudi Arabia. Our carrier picked them up while at port (actually anchored out), and we stocked our soda machines with them.

Nubclear · August 9, 2003, 03:18

Limca and Thumbs Up are great.

Coke and Pepsi aren't.

The Mad Monk · August 9, 2003, 03:20

What the hell is cadmium doing in a bottling plant?

DanS · August 9, 2003, 13:45

I am reserving judgment on this. Perhaps it is just Coke and Pepsi's commercial rivals trying to whip up Indian protectionism--which has been and still is pretty draconian anyway.

As for the quality of the Indian water supply available to these companies, it's an interesting question. The pesticides mentioned are generally used against mosquitos, so the malaria/other health issues trade-off profile is very different in India than Europe, for instance. These levels of pesticides might be acceptable in India for Coke and Pepsi, even if a more stringent scientific review were adopted.

chequita guevara · August 9, 2003, 13:58

India is extremely corrupt. It is highly likely that bottling plant managers have bribed Indian officials to overlook the failure to install proper water filtration. Given that Coke and Pepsi engaged in actual warfare in Thailand (gun fights between distributors and dynamiting of each other's warehouses) and in Columbia (and Guatemala, IIRC) Coke has hired death squads to deal with union organizing at Coke bottling plants (in Mexico they just hired thugs to beat them up).

DanS · August 9, 2003, 14:15

That doesn't seem to make sense, che. It is in Coke and Pepsi's primary interest to replicate a product across its brand. For instance, pesticides in the Coke in India reduces the value of the brand not only in India, but also worldwide. And as shown, it's supremely easy for any third-party to check the product out at any place and any time.

Because of this, Coke and Pepsi would probably be more effective regulators of what they put in their own products than anything that could be instituted by the state.

GePap · August 9, 2003, 14:20

How much did the scandals in Europe hurt sales in the US and the Third world a few years ago? I don;t think they did much. I see the Cola market as far more comparmentalized even if two corporations have the lions share/ Everyone knows they use local bottlers, so that an Indian bottling plant in crap means little to some guy in Indiana. Add that you are unlikely to see much on the news, and most customers elsewhere will never know.

chequita guevara · August 9, 2003, 14:29

Quote:

Originally posted by DanS
That doesn't seem to make sense, che. It is in Coke and Pepsi's primary interest to replicate a product across its brand.

Never assume that corporations will look out for their long term interest when short-term gains can be made. Any hit from this can be massaged by PR and made to be a local problem.

More likely, however, the prolem is corruption at the local level. Corruption is the way things are done in India. Government inspectors can't be fired and get low pay, so they don't do their job and take bribes to either get their jobs done or to overlook things. It's possible the managers there pocketed the money rather than install water filters while telling US corporate that they did. It's possible they were sold faulty filters.

Remember, very few people ever committ crimes thinking they'll get caught.

The other think I think is fairly likely (if not coruption) is that they assumed that the municipal water systems were safe. Softdrinks in the US don't use filtered water AFAIK. This can easily be determined by drinking bottles of Coke from different places in the U.S.

Imran Siddiqui · August 9, 2003, 16:51

Quote:

The other think I think is fairly likely (if not coruption) is that they assumed that the municipal water systems were safe. Softdrinks in the US don't use filtered water AFAIK. This can easily be determined by drinking bottles of Coke from different places in the U.S.

I actually think this may be more likely. Whenever I've been to Pakistan, my family over there boiled the water from the tap because of impurities. I can't imagine India being much better. And even then, there has to be some traces left behind, yeah?

Odin · August 9, 2003, 17:09

Typical of capitalists, caring more about the bottom line than public safety.

Imran Siddiqui · August 9, 2003, 17:12

Typical of Odin, blaming the capitalists without seeing the big picture.

mrmitchell · August 9, 2003, 17:20

Typical of Imran, mocking using the same line without adding much to the thread.

Odin · August 9, 2003, 17:27

Quote:

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

Typical of Odin, blaming the capitalists without seeing the big picture.

Typical of a tasteless Neo-con like you.

mrmitchell · August 9, 2003, 17:28

It's not typical for "typical" to be used 4 5 posts in a row.

Odin · August 9, 2003, 17:31

Quote:

Originally posted by mrmitchell
It's not typical for "typical" to be used 4 5 posts in a row.

I was bashing Irman over on the Liberalism thread.

Imran Siddiqui · August 9, 2003, 17:31

Quote:

Typical of Imran, mocking using the same line without adding much to the thread.

My post beforehand added what I needed to say in the thread... didn't wish to say it again.

Quote:

Typical of a tasteless Neo-con like you.

Better than being a commie

.

Odin · August 9, 2003, 17:34

Quote:

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Better than being a commie

.

At least we don't help other based on what we ger in return.

Imran Siddiqui · August 9, 2003, 17:36

Quote:

At least we don't help other based on what we ger in return.

Leadership positions aren't return at all

.

And here's a dirty little secret, NeoCons don't help others solely based on what the US gets in return either... though having peaceful democratic states does eventually help the US in not having to worry as much.